Aegis Rising (38 page)

Tayoka nodded. “Now, a backward roll.”

Jag felt anxiety creeping through his body. A backward roll was the simplest of moves on flat ground, but on a log, it scared him—although he would never admit it.
Suck it up, punk
, he thought. As he did the roll, he felt something was off and realized his back hadn’t been aligned well. Panicking, he tumbled backwards off the log and fell. He landed with a hard thud on his side and laid still for a few moments, stunned, the wind knocked out of him.

“Are you alright, Jag?” Huyani called worriedly from where she stood beside Tayoka.

“Just dandy,” he groaned and rolled over onto his stomach before pushing himself up.

Tayoka barked a few words at Jag, and Huyani said, “He is telling you to get back up and complete the somersaults. He says you are not moving onto other feats until you’ve accomplished this one perfectly.”

With a resigned dip of his head to acknowledge the Elder, Jag climbed back to the top of the log. He was prepared for a long, hard day ahead.

At the other end of the training ground, Kody was straining his ears, trying not to lose his focus as Nageau clapped his hands and made loud distracting noises, all the while moving in circles around him. When Nageau first gave him his task, it sounded unchallenging. All he was to do was focus on the sound of a certain cricket about a hundred feet away. He hadn’t expected Nageau to create serious interruptions.

“I can’t focus with all that noise,” Kody grumbled.

“That is the point, my young friend!” Nageau answered and he continued to move around and be distractive. “What is the point of this ability if you are only able to use it in tranquil conditions?”

Kody tried to think of a rebuttal but couldn’t and grouched instead. “Could you at least tone it down a little, please?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Then I can’t focus!”

“If you tell yourself that you cannot, then there is simply no way your power will grow.”

Kody threw his hands up in frustration.

“Remember, Kody, for your abilities to be truly effective, you must calm yourself and not let any other emotions grab hold of you.”

“I can’t believe that I’m in the intermediate stage of my training and this is all I get to do.”

Nageau stopped and cast Kody a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”

“Well . . .” Kody sat on the grass and poked at the dirt. “I thought there would be more to this intermediate stage than just further listening.”

Nageau clasped his hands together. “I see.”

“Isn’t there something else we can do, and then maybe we can come back to this later?”

“I suppose we could. What would you like to do?”

Kody looked up at the sky as he thought. “I’d like to work on increasing my sense of smell.”

Nageau smiled. “That is doable. Give me a few minutes while I set up an evaluation.”

Kody lay down on his back and gazed up through the tall pine and fir trees. A few clouds rolled by in the sky, and he fancied one of them looked like the face of his youngest brother. He half-smiled at the thought and continued watching the cloud as it drifted away. A sudden pang of homesickness struck him and his smile disappeared. Though he couldn’t say for certain, he was almost sure that he and his friends had been living with the Dema-Ki people for at least a month. The past couple of weeks had been exciting and he hadn’t had much time to wonder about his family who were in the “outside world,” as the villagers called it.

Well, not the whole family
, he thought sadly. The Elders had never come back to him about his father. They’d never told him if his father had been found or if he was safe. They never told, and he never asked. The Elders would undoubtedly inform him if they learned any news about his father, so he didn’t see a reason to keep nagging them for an answer they didn’t have.

He continued gazing up at the sky, brokenhearted.
I miss you, Dad.

“Kody?”

Kody sat up and found Nageau looking at him with concern. He quickly jumped to his feet and rubbed his eyes, then looked up at the tall Elder.

“Is something bothering you, youngling?”

He shook his head. Nageau knew it wasn’t the truth, but if Kody wanted to speak his mind, then he would. The Elder led his apprentice to the center of the large clearing and gave him his instructions. “First, we must test your sense of smell, just as we tested your sense of hearing. I have placed different objects around here. Without moving, I want you to first tell me which direction the smell is coming from; and second—tell me what it is that you can smell.”

For the next half hour, Kody was assessed on the keenness of his nose. It was a relatively easy task for him since his sense of smell was naturally excellent. Nageau was impressed as they wrapped up the evaluation. “Your sense of smell is astounding,” the Elder told him.

Kody smiled. “Thank you. I usually use it to help me find food that’s being prepared around the neighborhood during summertime. People get their grills out on their decks, so there’s food everywhere.” He mimed flipping a burger on a barbeque grill, then stopped and looked thoughtful. “Elder Nageau,” he said.

“Yes?”

“The contaminant in the water. Does it have a scent to it? Maybe that could help locate where it comes from. Back home, we’ve discovered that some breeds of dogs are able to smell certain illnesses that their owners have, so I was thinking that, with a strong sense of smell, maybe we could pick up the scent?”

“Actually, I have attempted that,” Nageau answered. “I must say, though, it pleases me that you thought of it as well. That is a good quality, to think of various ways to find a solution.”

“You tried? So did you find a scent?”

“No. Unfortunately, it seems to be odorless.”

Kody tilted his head slightly and grinned. “Can I try?”

Nageau patted his pupil on the back and chuckled. “After we finish today’s training, yes.”

*  *  *

Akira soared in the sky, drawing ever closer to the Ayen Range. With Tikina in control, the eagle scanned the ground for any signs of the four men. It had been three days since the search parties had been sent out, and their hopes of finding the men had not been met.

But when we last communicated with them, they were closer to the Ayen’et than where the search parties currently are
, Tikina reasoned. She continued to look for any sign through Akira’s eyes as the bird neared the base of the Ayen’et mountain. The sun was beginning to set, casting shadows across the land as it did, but the eagle had superb vision which Tikina found very useful.

Akira circled around the mountain, eyes searching, then landed on a tree to rest. Tikina allowed the eagle a respite, understanding that she had been flying almost continuously.

An unexpected noise startled Tikina. Curious, she took the bird to flight and searched around the area. The noise sounded again, quieter this time. Tikina scanned the ground with the eagle’s eyes, daring to hope.

She saw a motion on the ground right at the base of the mountain, by a large boulder. She flew Akira closer to get a better look and her eyes widened in disbelief. Breyas lay on his back, his hands beneath him. His arms and face were bruised and scratched, and one of his legs extended at an awkward angle. Akira landed beside him and ran her beak over his cheek. His eyes were closed, but he groaned.

Tikina observed his injuries, her heart pounding, and quickly led Akira to fly again. They flew until Tikina spotted another form, laying facedown in the dirt not too far away from Breyas.
Rikèq
, Tikina realized with a pang. Her daughter’s mate; father of Akol and Huyani. He was unconscious just as Breyas was and looked as gravely battered.
What happened to them?
Tikina wondered, troubled.

She flew Akira in circles until the sun was almost out of sight, desperately searching for Aydar and Keno. She couldn’t find them.
Where are they?
She couldn’t bear to think of the worst. She flew Akira around one last time, hoping to find any sign that would lead her to believe that Aydar and Keno were alive. She was unsuccessful.

Torn between feelings of relief at finding two members of the team and the urge to keep looking for the other missing ones, Tikina decided that the men she had found would need tending to quickly.
Perhaps when the search party arrives, they may have more luck finding Aydar and Keno.
She turned Akira and the eagle flapped her wings madly toward the search party, breaking the stillness around her with a shrill caw of distress as night finally fell upon the forest.

44

T
he two separate search parties had met just before sunset and were now sitting around a campfire as, one by one, stars appeared in the cloudless sky. Both teams had similar things to report: Neither had found the four missing men, and both had discovered more animal carcasses strewn around the forest as they travelled.

They were interrupted by a piercing caw from an invisible form. Looking around, their eyes darted back and forth. The woman in the red bandana jumped up and went to put on her leather glove, knowing that Akira was coming back with news.

The eagle’s silhouette appeared as she came closer to the search party, gliding toward the woman’s outstretched arm. Akira landed on the glove and cawed again, looking at the woman, her gold feathers glowing in the light of the fire. The woman half-closed her eyes and listened as Tikina shared what she had found.

“Elder Tikina has found Breyas and Rikèq, but they are unconscious and injured,” she informed the members of her search party.

They shared relieved looks. “What about Aydar and Keno?” asked a member of the group.

“Elder Tikina does not know. She thinks that perhaps we might be able to find them once we reach the other two.” She nodded to the eagle and the majestic bird flapped its giant wings until she was hovering above the search party. “No rest tonight, I am afraid,” the woman said. “Put out that fire and we will be on our way.”

*  *  *

“You need
another
fifty barrels of the chemicals?”

“You heard me.” Ajajdif rested his feet on his desk and traced invisible lines on the ceiling of his office with a finger.

“That means I’ll have to fly out one of the Ospreys again.”

“Adrian, you know as well as I do that we need to do everything necessary to keep this project moving along.”

“Don’t use that condescending tone with me, Vlad.”

“I’m just saying we need those chemicals.”

“Okay, fine. We’ll get them out to you. Is that all you called for?”

Ajajdif looked down from the ceiling. “Actually, no.” He lowered his voice. “I happen to know that those Ospreys weren’t bought just for their cargo hauling capabilities.”

“Excuse me?”

“Those birds are the civilian versions meant for the commercial market, but we know full well their pedigree, no?”

Black sounded wary on the other end of the line. “Yes, it’s true. Quest Defense has modified the aircraft so that we can equip it with a range of offensive and defensive capabilities. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I was just thinking . . .”

“Get to the point, Vlad!”

“With the four natives dead, I’m just worried that others might come looking for them.”

“Others?”

Ajajdif sighed impatiently. “Yes, others. The others from their tribe, or whatever they call it. I detected a strong sense of cohesiveness and I’m sure they had capabilities we did not see.”

“And?”

“And if others come looking for their dead friends, I’d appreciate some extra help.”

“You already have the Marauders and some small arms.”

“That might not be enough, Adrian. Those trespassers weren’t normal. Normal people don’t escape heavy chains and jump off the side of a mountain with their hands tied behind their backs. And I looked through their packs. They had weapons, and these were no cheesy sharp-ended sticks that they carved with a flint.”

“You’re really worried, huh?” Black said in a flat tone.

“I’m just trying to take precautions so that everything continues running smoothly. We’re up to eight kilos of the mineral now. One more to go and we’re back on track.”

Ajajdif could almost imagine Black sitting in headquarters with his fingertips pressed together. “If you really believe that the bird is essential to getting you out of there by the deadline, then I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks.” Ajajdif ended the call and walked out of his office. He passed a secure storage unit where the mineral was kept and took a quick look inside. Each kilo of the mineral was in its own sturdy container. Ajajdif opened one of the containers and looked at the fine, black, odorless powder that sparkled as light touched it. He snorted. “Three months of hard work and pain for this dust?”

As he closed the lid of the container and double-checked to make sure it was secure, he shuddered at what Quest Defense was planning to create with the mineral.

*  *  *

The search party had trekked tirelessly through the night. Although some of the villagers were a little bleary-eyed, no one had asked to stop for a break even though it was nearly midday. The Ayen’et loomed, casting its shadow over the search party, but they were not deterred.

The team followed Akira as the eagle flew unguided with the purpose of her flight embedded in her brain. She circled back often to see if the search party was still following her, then flew ahead. At last she lighted on a tree near Breyas and Rikèq. Both men were still unconscious.

It was only minutes later that the search party arrived at the scene. The woman in the red bandana scoped around the area and then assigned two members of the party to search for Aydar and Keno as she and the others tended to Breyas and Rikèq.

One of the villagers removed his journey pack, unfolded it into a stretcher, and set it down beside Breyas. Another member of the party did the same with his own journey pack, placing it by Rikèq’s side. “Cut the ropes that bind their hands!” the woman with the red bandana ordered.

The men pulled out their knives and sliced the bindings off, then gently turned their unconscious kin onto their backs. They administered emergency treatments with the skill and precision of trained first aid responders.