Wind-Scarred (The Will of the Elements, Book 1) (31 page)

It was almost enough to make him forget that
he was a prisoner.

“
At least you have stuff to do,” Mat grumbled during a training
session a few months into their captivity. “Mr. Blair's got Sarah
and I stocking supplies, checking maps, and running maintenance on
weapons this week.” He sighed dejectedly, catching Ezra's swing and
sliding a step in, forcing him off balance. Mat arced two lightning
fast fakes at Ezra's head and knee, only to snake a devious thrust
at his mid-section. “But that's not even the worst of it,” Mat
scowled as Ezra somehow managed parry the thrust, skipping back a
step. “Sometimes he has us monitoring incoming calls from field
teams. It's bad enough being stuck here, without the constant
reminder, you know?”

Ezra readied his practice sword, keeping an
eye on Mat's center. “How, um... is Sarah doing... well?” he
finished lamely.

Mat launched into a series of sweeping
strikes. Head! Shoulder! Knee! Torso! Shoulder! As Ezra backpedaled
desperately, trying to stay ahead, Mat gave him a sad little smile.
“Give her time, man,” he turned aside Ezra's counter attack with a
flick of the wrist and swept his legs on the back-swing. Mat shook
his head. “It just takes time.”

Outside of the gym, Jeffries was a constant
nuisance. When he wasn't making wild accusations as publicly as
possible, he was hunting down anyone who knew Ezra and pumping them
for information. He once arrested the cook for no discernible
reason and held him for twenty four hours, then released him with a
cryptic message for Ezra about wanting to see him sweat. Every new
crime in the city was suddenly traced back to the Hawkins estate,
and every one of the detective's visits ate up hours and left Ezra
feeling drained and disgusted.

Most nights were spent with the mission
reports, with Ezra trying and failing to find a some missed fact or
noticeable pattern behind the elementalists. That is, until Gal
discovered that taking her out to upscale restaurants and social
functions was, as she put it, 'a necessary and previously neglected
part of his cover story.' It seemed like every other night found
him at some new and happening night spot, Gal looking glamorous on
his arm as she whirled him through a blur of overindulgent Legacy
parties, vintage movie screenings, and extravagant galas that would
make even the most jaded socialite weep tears of joy.

Ezra hated it.

“
Wait, I just need to get to the end of this report!” he
protested when Gal came to pick him for some art exhibit opening at
the Webatorium.

“
Ezzy,” she said seriously. “I don't think you're taking into
consideration just how much this dress flatters my legs.” She
pointed to where the scandalously high hem stopped, right around
the top of her thighs.

About a minute later, Ezra managed to tear
his eyes away from her gorgeous legs. Had she asked a question? And
why was he changing into a dress shirt? He glanced over at the
mission report next to his bed. “But,” he moaned in despair, “this
report deals with a water-seer. If I'm ever going to have a chance
out there I'll need to know everything I can about them.”

Gal impatiently tapped her foot, pulled up a
time display, and rolled her eyes in disgust. “Fine, I was hoping
to save this for a special occasion, but I guess now will have to
do.” A teasing a little smirk inched its way across her mouth as
she stalked forward. “Take me to see the web comics of the early
twenty-first century,” she whispered intimately, eyes suddenly
making his pants shrink two sizes. “And after,” she ran her hands
over his chest and clasped them behind his neck, pulling her body
against his and nuzzling his neck. “I'll help you find religion,”
her voice was an irresistible coo in his ear. The scent of her
threatened to rob him of his sanity, and he found himself helping
her into the skiff waiting outside before he realized what was
going on.

Three hours later, Ezra was staring at a
three panel comic in mild confusion. “I don't get it,” he told Gal,
who was busy beaming at everyone and everything while sipping
champagne. “I thought this was supposed to be a...” he consulted
the pamphlet he had picked up near the door, “'slice of life'
comic. Did Gabe really own a unicorn?”

“
Ezzy, please,” she hissed at him out of the side of her mouth,
smile still fixed firmly in place. “It's not about the content.
It's about the con
cept
.” She laughed lightly and fluttered her hand in a psuedo-wave
at someone out in the crowd. “Just like this party. I can't imagine
all these people are really that interested in...” her eyes scanned
then room, then she gestured to the far wall. “Stick figures with
amusing captions and an unpronounceable name.”

“
That's probably just a bad translation.”

“
It's about being seen, about the concept behind the art that
gave it substance and meaning.” Gal took another sip of her drink,
then glanced speculatively at a nearby exhibit, considering.
“Except for the one with runt and the devil girls. That artist was
a visionary.”

==

“
Oh,” Ezra said, looking down. “This is... nice.”

“
I
really wanted to do something
special
for you, Ezzy,” Gal
purred.

“
Yeah, um, it really is... special.” He gazed forlornly at her
little dress. It really was a very nice, flattering dress. Shame
about how she was still wearing it. Ezra sighed in defeat. “Thank
you, Gal. I never even thought to expect it.”

“
And that's how well I know you.” She nodded self-assuredly,
then stretched her arms up, perfectly fluid and utterly sensuous.
Her eyes cracked open and she gave him a knowing smile. “Enjoy
the... book.” Gal sauntered down the walkway away from Ezra's
house, blowing him a kiss before climbing into the skiff and
disappearing into the night. There was just no winning with that
girl.

Ezra shook his head and
walked inside, glancing over the worn cover of the book Gal had
left him.
The Will of the
Elements
. He didn't know how she had gotten
her hands on a copy of the religious manuscripts from the outside
world, but he recognized the significance. Gaav had insisted that
his ability to move and shape the earth around him was rooted in
this religion. This book could contain the secret to all of their
powers. Some kind of ritual that they performed to awaken latent
potential, maybe? The human brain was capable of so much more than
the meager use mankind put it to. Or it could be some sort of
indoctrination process that people with powers went through during
their formative years. That would explain Gaav's blind devotion to
his god, as well as the nearly universal belief in some mother
goddess that was mentioned throughout the mission reports. He had
even witnessed it himself; two very different towns, every single
person thanking earth for a bountiful harvest or fire for the
warmth they were sharing.

Ezra was about three pages and thirty
conspiracy theories into the religious text when the house
announced that someone was at the front door. His heart leaped into
his throat. Had Gal changed her mind about other... activities? He
quickly straightened his shirt and brushed at his hair as he raced
for the door. Just the thought of her in that little dress, pouting
at him, made his heart race.

He threw open the door to find... Sarah.
Glaring at him. Ezra flinched back, falling into one of the
defensive stances Mat and Liza had drilled into him without
thought. “Sarah... um... hi?”

Her ice blue eyes stared at him in annoyance
for several seconds, then she jerked her head to the side. “Come
with me.”

There were certainly nicer bars in
Sanctuary. Ezra knew. Gal had danced him through most of them. The
bar Sarah picked out didn't have any fancy lights announcing it to
the world. There was no music pumping life into the air. In fact,
there weren't even any other people, aside from the balding
bartender of indeterminate age. He nodded solemnly to Sarah as they
walked in.

Despite the lack of bells and whistles, the
quiet little barroom was pleasant. Solid looking, polished hardwood
was in abundance. Sarah slid up to the bar and Ezra took a
comfortable stool beside her, inspecting the bar top closely as he
did. He'd never even seen real, non-synthetic wood until he'd left
Sanctuary. How had this place managed to get... Ezra's eyes widened
as he turned to see the bartender frown at him then give Sarah an
inquisitive look.

She snorted indelicately and tapped two
fingers to the counter. “He's cool, Sean.” The bartender, Sean,
nodded again and pulled out a bottle of the hardest whiskey they
had brought back from Arborlin. Two glasses of the rich amber
liquid materialized in front of them, and Sarah threw hers back in
one efficient swallow. Ezra took a small sip from his glass.
“Hawkins,” she said without looking in his direction, “you drink
like a man tonight, or I'll knock you out and dump that down your
throat.”

Ezra blinked at Sarah, then at the drink in
front of him. He straightened his back, lifted his chin, and drank
the liquor in a swift swallow. His throat informed him that he had
just lit it on fire as he coughed and gasped, eyes watering and
head reeling. Sarah smiled a little, tapped two fingers on the bar
again, and their glasses were promptly refilled. Ezra carefully
followed suit as Sarah took a more conservative drink this time,
then stared at her glass as it rested on the bar in silence.

“
We met in the catalyst lab,” she began a few moments later,
quietly, as if each word as made of cut glass - precious, delicate,
sharp and painful. “Rob and I. Father didn't want us taking any
shortcuts. Hard work and long hours, no special treatment.” A sad
little laugh escaped her lips. “He didn't know who I was. Thought I
was just another lab grunt, mindlessly fashioning a piece for the
great puzzle that only the glorious Hughes family could put
together.” Another sip, slowing down, collecting her thoughts. “He
was just... nice. To me. Wasn't afraid to tease me or laugh when I
made a mistake. He didn't worry about offending me with his music
or get scared when I asked him a question. It was nice. I... I
didn't tell him. About who I was. Instead, we went and had coffee
and talked about things that we wanted to do. You wouldn't know,
but all he ever wanted was to see the ocean. He'd read about it,
seen old videos... but something about it just called to him.”
Sarah's eyes glistened as they got a far away look. “We would make
plans about how we were going to take the space elevator up high
enough to see over the Barrier Mountains, keep going until we could
see the ocean. Just the two of us. A daring adventure.”

“
Sounds like he was happy in the Guild,” Ezra said
gently.

Sarah flashed him a spiteful look. “Just
listen,” she snapped dangerously. Ezra took another swallow of his
whiskey and shut his stupid mouth.

Sarah finished her drink and tapped her
glass, then continued. “My father came to the lab one day.
Expressed his concern that I 'wasn't living up to my potential.' I
was terrified that Rob would hate me for lying to him... but he
acted like nothing was different. It drove me crazy. I spent weeks
waiting for the other shoe to drop, for him to start behaving like
everyone else. Then he told me his new plan for going to see the
ocean, just like we were still two grunts, slaving away and
dreaming our dreams.” She blinked rapidly a few times, then
whispered, “I think that's when I fell in love with him.”

Sarah took a deep breath and cleared her
throat. “I moved up, of course. Reaction observations, super-solid
theory, everything that the Hughes heiress would need to continue
our Legacy. But I would always go have coffee with Rob. I was young
and in love and stupid. I thought I could help him. Help him move
up in the world, do more interesting things, maybe even work with
me when I became the head of the family. I tried... tried to teach
him things. Little things, so that he could impress his
supervisors. Get out of the catalyst lab. Maybe discover something
of his own. Maybe be with-” Her voice choked off and she quickly
took another sip of her liquor.

It was several moments before she continued,
and then it was in a small, quiet little voice. “Someone overheard
us talking about Choshkian bonding conditions while we waited for
our coffee. Rob was fired the next day for trying to steal family
secrets. A black mark. No-one would touch him; he was out of
science forever. I went to him in tears, begged him to forgive me.”
A thin line of tears traced its way down Sarah's cheek, pattering
to the wooden bar before she wiped them away. “He said... he said
there was nothing to forgive. That he'd be fine, and was just happy
to know me, to know that I cared about him. It was overwhelming.
That night I stormed into my father's study. I yelled at him. He
yelled back. I said things... things that I shouldn't have said.
The next day, he officially named my little sister heir to the
Hughes Legacy. My studies were cut off, but I didn't care. Rob
found me sitting on the roof of the catalyst lab, staring at the
space elevator. He didn't say anything. Just handed me a coffee and
sat down next to me.” She glanced at Ezra's half-full tumbler, and
he hurriedly emptied it, wincing as his throat burst into a fresh
blaze of agony. He caught Sean's eye and tapped his glass.

Sarah nodded, satisfied. “We tried to break
into the Sanctuary Center to get to the space elevator a week
later. Got caught before we even made it to the first checkpoint.”
She raised her drink in a little salute to Sean, who smiled as he
refilled Ezra's glass. “The Guild. They'd been watching, of course.
Knew most of our 'big plans' better than we did. It didn't take any
convincing, really. Over the next year, we watched the ocean at
sunrise and sunset, gaped as it rage under a furious storm, saw it
sparkle beneath a cloudless sky and shimmer on a moonless night.
Together. Always together.” The corners of her mouth turned up in a
little smile. “There's a place out on some islands in the middle of
the Pacific Ocean. A single, enormous tree, seven meters around at
least, growing out of a dead volcano, surrounded by these jagged
mirrors of obsidian. It lives in its own little bubble of temperate
climate. The locals call it the Kayla Tree and consider it to be a
sacred place. Rob convinced me to climb it with him. From the
branches, we could see the ocean all around on every side.”