Aegis Rising (39 page)

When the searchers had done all that they could, they carefully lifted the unconscious men onto the stretchers and strapped them down to keep them immobilized.

The woman in the red bandana stepped back and observed the team. “Good job, everyone,” she praised. “We will take a quick lunch break before returning home.”

The team settled on the ground and took out their meals, hastily devouring them. The two men who had been sent to find Aydar and Keno came back, looking downcast.

The woman waved them over. “What news do you bring?”

One of the men shook his head sullenly. “We have been continuously searching but have not found them.”

The woman looked distressed. “Where have you checked?”

“We hiked a little ways up the mountain but they are simply nowhere to be found,” the other man answered.

She removed her bandana and sighed, running her finger through her hair. “Are you certain you have combed through the area thoroughly?”

“Yes.”

The woman brought her knees up to her chest and hugged her arms around them. She closed her eyes and whispered a quick prayer, then stood up. “I will need four volunteers to remain here and continue searching for Keno and Aydar,” she said, trying to keep the sadness from her voice. She turned to the others and saw that they were already done with their meals. “Let us bring our brothers back home, my friends.”

As the others picked up their packs and carefully lifted the stretchers, the woman pulled her hair back and retied her bandana. She glanced up at Akira who was still perched on the tree nearby and reached out with her mind. Realizing Tikina was once again in control of the eagle, she expressed her appreciation to the Elder for leading them to the missing men.

The eagle dipped her head in response, then took flight away from the search party. The woman watched the regal creature soar, momentarily diverted by its striking magnificence as it flew away in the direction of the sun.

The woman turned back to look at the search party and inspected the stretchers again to make sure everything was secure. She gazed down at the unconscious men, eyes running over their badly bruised and scraped faces. Resting a hand on each of their foreheads, she murmured a few words of healing. She then headed to the front of the search party to lead it away from the mountain and back to the valley. She glanced over her shoulder at the four men who were staying behind to search for Keno and Aydar. As she thanked them in silence, she was disheartened at the thought that they’d only managed to find two survivors.

45

T
he pinecone looked astonishing. From such close proximity, the scales appeared helix-like as they extended from the tip to the end of the cone. They were like the scales on a dragon. It was something most would have wanted to stop and inspect.

But not this creature. It had other things in mind and Tegan could do nothing but tag along for the ride. The ground squirrel scampered around the training area with frantic excitement, sniffing everything and scuttling through the grass. It froze when it swung around and nearly had its eyes poked by the antennae of a large snail that was slowly crawling over the dirt. The squirrel nosed the slimy creature curiously before turning and zigzagging away with an incredible amount of energy compacted into its small body.

Tegan’s eyes fluttered open as she let go of her mind-link and placed her hands on either side of her head to steady herself. “What a rush!” she exclaimed, looking up from where she sat a few feet across from Tikina.

The Elder laughed. “Do tell.”

“It was . . . wow! That thing is crazy. It has so much energy. I couldn’t keep up with it so I had to let go.”

“That is quite alright. It is to be expected at this point in your training. Tell me, what did you see through its eyes?”

“Everything from the dirt to the tips of the grass. All the small insects going about their business. The feel of the grass under my—uh, the squirrel’s paws. And I could smell so many things, too. The clarity of it all was amazing.” Tegan shook her head in incredulity. “A truly out-of-this-world experience.”

Tikina lent her hand to Tegan and pulled the girl to her feet. “And imagine,” she said, “this is only the beginning. At this point all you did was follow the animal around. Later, not only will you be able to link with larger creatures, you will also be able to control their movements.”

Tikina had explained how mind-linking worked before they began the training. Just as all creatures shared a biological existence on Earth in the biosphere, there was a higher plane called the nova-sphere where minds and thoughts permeate. Projecting one’s consciousness and seeking to connect with another mind was the basis of the meditative training that Tegan was undergoing.

Tegan was amazed at Tikina’s insights. She thought of what was to come in her future and looked as if she wanted to bounce around like an excited child with a new toy, but instead opted to keep her feet planted on the ground. She couldn’t help herself from grinning, though.

Tikina was pleased to see her enthusiasm. “We still have a little bit of time before your midday meal. What would you like to do?”

Tegan pointed to a gray jay that was gazing at them inquisitively from up in a tree. “I’d like to mind-link with that bird.”

Tikina followed the line Tegan’s finger made and smiled when she saw the bird. “That fellow takes quite naturally to us humans. Go ahead.”

Facing the small bird, Tegan sat back down on the grass and closed her eyes, focusing her consciousness on finding the bird’s energy field in the nova-sphere. When she found it, it was an easy task to link with it, and soon she was looking through the eyes of the bird. She could see herself sitting with her eyes closed and thought,
I really do look like I’ve been living in the wild
. Before she got a chance to inspect herself further, the gray jay took off, flapping its tiny wings. Tegan marveled at how the bird was able to pilot through the trees so quickly without hitting anything. Her heart skipped a beat each time the bird zoomed past a tree, avoiding collision by mere inches as it expertly navigated its way around the forest.

When the bird decided to land on a branch again, it was on a tree overlooking Aari’s area of the training grounds. Curious, Tegan decided to wait and watch for a bit before breaking the link with the gray jay.

Aari was a couple of dozen feet away from the bird’s perch. Ashack stood nearby, pointing to four objects that were placed in a row in front of them. Akol stood with Ashack, rapidly translating the Elder’s words for Aari. The objects were pentagonal prisms that stood about five feet high, each constructed of different material. The one to the far left was transparent like glass and the one next to it appeared translucent. The third object was a solid white, and the last object, on the far right, was as reflective as a mirror.

Having described each of the objects and what was expected of Aari, Ashack and Akol huddled with the boy for a quick pep talk and stepped back when Aari nodded. The Elder and Akol went to stand behind Aari, directly under the branch the bird was on. They watched as Aari faced the transparent object. He exhaled and extended his arms in front of him at a slightly upwards angle, then pressed his palms together.

Nothing happened as they all stared at the side of the prism that was facing them. Then the top left corner of the prism began to shimmer and slowly the edges began to disappear, but only for a brief moment. Then the bottom corners of the object began to look hazy before they vanished completely. The pattern continued until the entire front face of the pentagonal prism disappeared.

Tegan saw Ashack’s stone face crack into a brilliant smile, clearly impressed. She smiled to herself as well, proud of her friend.

Feeling the bird was about to spread its wings, she steadied herself. The jay took off, fluttering over the heads of Ashack, Akol, and Aari. The trio looked up as the bird flew from their sights. Tegan laughed. Aari would be in for a surprise when she informed him that a little bird had told her exactly what he’d done today.

*  *  *

Standing with Relsuc under a tree, Hutar watched as the five walked over the bridge to the other side of the river and made their way to Huyani’s shelter for the afternoon meal. “Is everything set for tomorrow?” he asked quietly, not taking his eyes off the group as they walked into the
neyra
.

Relsuc unsheathed his knife from his belt and held it up to look at it as the sun glinted off the blade. “Yes. All that is left to do is invite the five to join us.”

“Perfect.”

They turned and headed toward the stable. Hutar said nothing the entire way and Relsuc, not wanting to disturb Hutar, remained mute as well. But the silence was short-lived. As they were about to step into the stable, a torrent of shouts rose up in the valley. Hutar and Relsuc looked at each other, then turned and ran to the eastern end of the valley where a crowd of people had gathered. Hutar elbowed his way through and saw Matikè in the throng. He grabbed her arm and she turned to look at him.

“What is going on?” he asked.

She grinned. “The search party has returned.”

Hutar’s eyes stretched wide.
Uncle
, he thought, finally cracking a hint of a smile. He had been waiting for this moment for days. He pushed past his brethren until he reached the front of the crowd and stared, his spirits raised. Matikè and Relsuc came to stand beside him and all three saw the search party walking toward them. Hutar saw two men on stretchers but couldn’t tell who they were.

“I thought four men were sent out,” Matikè murmured. “Where are the other two?”

Hutar didn’t say anything and watched in silence. The search party halted in front of the anxious crowd, trying to find a way through them to get the two men to the convalescence shelter. Hutar walked forward, Matikè and Relsuc following closely behind, and looked down at the two men who lay unconscious on the stretchers. Neither was his uncle. He looked up at the search party. “Where is my uncle?” he asked quietly.

The woman in the red bandana looked back at him and recognized who he was. She lowered her gaze a little and took a few moments to answer. “We could not find him, Hutar.”

Hutar was unable to believe his ears. “Pardon?”

“We looked for him, we really did. But we could not find him and neither were we able to locate Keno.” She looked back up at him. “I am so sorry.” She reached out to give him a soothing hug but he leaned away from her. She slowly lowered her arms. “If it is any consolation, Hutar, four members of my team are still searching for them.”

Behind Hutar, Matikè and Relsuc exchanged nervous looks. They saw Hutar’s fists clench and unclench slowly and heard him repeat in a disbelieving tone, “Could not find him?” He turned around and strode past everyone, his heels digging into the dirt. Matikè and Relsuc followed but kept their distance to be safe. Hutar stopped when he reached the river. “My uncle . . . was sent out by the Elders . . .
to die
.”

Matikè rested her hand on his forearm. “Do not say that, Hutar. You do not know that he is—”

In a flash Hutar had his hands wrapped around her neck, squeezing. His eyes were ablaze with fury. “Do not tell me that!” he spat. “You saw for yourself how badly the men who were brought back were hurt. If they could not find my uncle, what do you think happened to him?”

She tried to answer but he had an iron grip around her neck. Relsuc took a small step forward. “Hutar, let her go.” Hutar ignored him. Matikè’s face started to turn blue. Relsuc shouted, “Hutar, stop!”

Hutar let Matikè go and shoved her away. Relsuc caught her from behind before she fell and held her as she gasped for air. “There was no reason for that,” he said, shooting the other male a glare.

Hutar disregarded his words and turned his back to them. “There is one more thing I want you to do tomorrow.”

Relsuc listened with a grim face. When Hutar had finished explaining, he said nothing. Resting a hand on Matikè’s back, he guided her away, leaving Hutar to himself. Hutar stared at his reflection in the water, noticing the bags under his eyes and the stubble that he would shave for tomorrow. He scratched his cheek and pursed his lips. The element he wanted to add to his scheme tomorrow was unplanned, but the return of half of the four-man team tipped the scale. It wouldn’t have been nearly as bad if one of the two men found was his uncle, but that was not the case.

His uncle was the only thing in his life that had kept him reasonably sane since his father’s passing seven summers before. His mother died giving birth to him, so he never got to know her. Hutar’s father had raised him single-handedly and had been his rock and guide throughout his young life. Hutar had grown strongly attached to him and often refused to be anywhere but at his side.

On the day Hutar turned eleven summers, his father decided to take him out on their canoe to a pond famous for its fishing and campground. Normally, the younger boys in the village would wait in anticipation until they turned twelve, for it was only then that their fathers would take them on this ride to the pond, as was tradition. The young boys would impatiently hop around and whine to their parents after watching the older ones return with the extra swagger and the exaggerated stories of their adventures.

The pond was known among the people as “the white water pond.” It wasn’t because the water in the pond was white, but because on the way to the pond, the villagers had to paddle their boats through a rapid river that forked in two. One arm led to a slower-moving tributary that eventually flowed to the pond, while the other led to treacherous white waters that ended in a thundering, three-hundred foot waterfall.

Hutar had wanted to ride that river into the pond for years. He would constantly beg his father to take him out there, as he always got a thrill from being around danger. The intense sensation he got from conquering dangers left him with a strong sense of accomplishment. On Hutar’s birthday, his father agreed to finally grant him that wish. He had watched his son grow and was impressed with his skill level. For someone Hutar’s age, it was outstanding how he handled himself.