Blaze (The High-Born Epic) (16 page)

             
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.

             
She opened the book, and he saw Algebra II at the bottom of one of the pages.  He looked at her nervously.

             
“Where did you get this?” he asked.  “You would be in so much trouble.”

             
“It’s been passed down from generation to generation for many years,” she answered.  “I haven’t told Cooper and Ollie, because I don’t know if they could keep quiet about it.”

             
If only she knew
, he thought.  But he just nodded his head.

             
“I really don’t understand why the High-Born are so uptight about it,” she said.  “It’s really only a stepping stone to the mathematics that could actually be dangerous to them, but it has to be mastered before one can move on.  I suppose that they don’t want to take any chances that anybody could actually figure out how to do it.”

             
“Let’s get started,” he said.

             
She turned to the first lesson and they began working problems in the sand.  For the most part, Harold had very little difficulty even though some of the questions took a little more time to complete.  They quickly made their way through the first chapter, and had nearly finished the second chapter by the time the lights were shut off.

             
Aunt Nean lit the candles and then they started his grammar lessons.  Language came as naturally as the math did, and Harold noticed that Aunt Nean didn’t seem upset tonight and was very much pushing him.  She was pouring her knowledge into his head with merciless efficiency, and Harold realized that she wanted to see how much he could take.  He rose to every challenge she gave him, and she only seemed to get happier with him.

             
After another two hours, she tested him on everything they had studied that night, and he did not disappoint.  He never missed a single question.  As she gave him the final question, she watched him intently.  He realized that the word problem was meant to intentionally make the math problem difficult, but he just smiled.  Without using the sand to help him work it out, he told her the correct answer.

             
She put her hand over mouth to cover her smile, and her eyes seemed watery.  She tenderly reached for his face, and gently kissed him on the cheek.  Then, she sat down and smiled at him and Harold thought he saw something in her eyes that had never been there before.

             
He was not entirely sure, but he thought that it was a glimmer of hope.

Chapter 13

             
Harold walked out of the back door, and looked toward the sun.  It was not up yet, but it would not be much longer.  As he walked to the barn, he looked around for Scape, but did not see him.  Harold raised his eyebrows and wondered if he would ever come back.  He opened the door to the barn and looked at the mule who had her head pinned against the wall.  He quickly fed and watered her and walked back outside.  He looked across the field and saw that it was not ready to plant yet so he grabbed his bag of shorts and headed to the woods.

             
Just before he reached the treeline, he heard something and he turned to his right to see Scape trotting towards him.  Scape stopped and lowered his head and slightly crouched as he regarded Harold with his ears high on his head and wide eyes.  Harold smiled and squatted, and lightly clapped his hands and motioned for Scape to come closer.  Scape’s tail wagged furiously as he scooted towards Harold licking the air.  Harold smiled as he petted Scape who always managed to growl and purr at the same time.  Scape licked his face and Harold laughed as he patted his side and then stood up.

             
“Are you okay now?” Harold asked as he placed his hands on his hips.

             
Scape gave him a bark and spun around in a circle.

             
“C’mon, boy,” Harold said as he walked away.

             
It didn’t take him long to find a suitable spot, and he changed into a pair of shorts.

             
The walk to the woods had warmed his muscles and loosened his joints.  He could not help noticing how good he felt, both in body and mind.  Ever since the incident with the pytheel he had felt different.  He felt more coordinated, and more aware of his body and its movements.  He looked down at himself.  Although he had always had good tone, his muscles seemed harder and more defined.  They had even gotten larger.  Now, he could feel something within his mind that was difficult to describe, but he wanted to try it.

             
“All right, Scape,” Harold said.  “Let’s see what I can do.”

             
He moved his feet about shoulder-width apart and half-squatted.  He took a deep breath and leaped into the air, flinging his arms above him.  He was careful not to jump too hard, and he threw his feet over his head, landing again on them.  He thought it was a good backflip, and Scape leaped up and barked.  He wagged his tail and spun around in circles.

             
“I guess that was pretty good, huh?” Harold smiled at Scape.

             
So he did another flip and judging from Scape’s reaction, he figured that he should have been satisfied with it.  He looked at a tree several steps from him and smiled.

             
The leaves kicked up behind him as he took off in a sprint towards it.  He saw Scape out of the corner of his eye running beside him.  He quickly made it to the tree and ran up it several steps, and then pushed off it.  He let out a laugh of joy as he felt freer than he ever had, and as he soared backwards through the air he heard Scape let out a bark.  He tilted his head towards the ground and he saw it coming, and he pulled his feet over his head and landed perfectly.  Harold raised his eyes when he saw that he had covered an amazing distance and was easily more than five times his own body length from the tree.

             
He could also feel something more, and he looked around and found an open stretch that was fairly wide and long enough to accommodate what he wanted to do.  Scape was standing right in the way, jumping and spinning in circles.

             
“Move, Scape,” Harold said and shooed him towards the left.

             
Scape padded off, sitting down and wagging his tail while he regarded Harold with his head slightly cocked and ears standing up.

             
Harold took a deep breath and got a running start.  When he was running fast enough, he threw his hands to the ground, then slung his feet back to the ground making sure that they hit at the same time.  Then he went head over heels backwards, catching himself with his hands and landing on his feet.  He repeated this four times, and he could feel the tremendous momentum he had generated.  After the fourth handspring, he slung himself high into the air.  He saw the ground whirl around twice as he flipped, and he landed nearly perfectly.

             
He smiled and looked at Scape.  His tail was rattling the leaves and stirring up dust as it wagged furiously.

             
He wanted to try something more difficult, and he realized in his mind that he was going to have to keep his body straight for this, but he thought about it for a couple of minutes.  After he turned it around in his mind several times, he was sure he could do it.  He sprinted back down the path, tumbling head over heels, and after a series of handsprings, he flung himself into the air.  He flipped over twice and twisted twice.  Though he was a little off-balance when he landed, it was because he had put too much into it and he staggered a few steps as he reined in the excess momentum.

             
He looked at Scape and he was now standing.

             
“Let me see what you got,” Harold said.

             
Scape skittered about and leaped high into the air and flipped completely around, landing on his front paws and then rolled down to his hind legs.  He took off sprinting and ran a couple of body lengths up a tree and jumped to another one, spinning half around as he did so.  He climbed up to the lowest branch and then barked at Harold as if taunting him.

             
Harold smiled and nodded to Scape.

             
For about another hour, he played with Scape while he practiced flipping and twisting around.  Soon, he was a little winded and he took a break.  While he rested, Scape watched over him from the lowest branch of the nearest tree.  After resting for a time and taking a few sips from his jar of water, he decided to try something new.

             
He walked to a large pine tree, and lightly tapped it with his knuckles.  It didn’t hurt.  So he hit it a little harder, and it still didn’t hurt.  He hit the tree with about half of his strength and it actually slightly shook.  He also noticed that he had knocked the bark off it.  To his amazement, his fist was fine.  He was actually afraid that if he hit it much harder that he would break the tree.

             
Harold looked at Scape and shrugged.  Though Scape’s ears stood up, he did not move from his comfortable perch.

             
Harold began bouncing back and forth, punching the tree with light pops.  He pretended that someone was punching back at him, and he ducked and wove in between an imaginary assault.  He refrained from hitting it as hard as possible, because he was only toying with the tree, and he was still knocking off the bark.  The wood underneath the bark was even denting in response to his blows.

             
As he danced around the tree pulverizing it, a memory came to him from several years earlier when he had heard that High-Born were on average about ten to twelve times stronger than a Low-Born.  Just their strength alone was enough to control the people of Foxx Hole, and their rail guns almost seemed like overkill to Harold.  However, as splinters began springing from the tree Harold was beginning to realize that he was stronger than the High-Born.  Even though Harold was slightly larger than most other Low-Born, there was nothing impressive about his size.  In fact, he did not even stand out in a crowd.  The High-Born, however, still towered over him, and most would weigh close to twice what Harold did, and some of the elites would probably be close to three times his weight.

             
Harold began putting a kick into the tree every now and then as he thought about fighting one of the giants.  As he bounced to and fro pummeling the tree, he glanced above and found the height on the tree where a large High-Born’s head would have been.  Harold let out a fearsome shout and air-burned, appearing at that spot.  A loud crack sounded and large splinters went in every direction as his fist impacted.  He landed lightly on his feet and he heard the tree groaning.  Harold saw Scape leap from his perch and hit the ground, running like mad.

             
Harold shook his head as he stepped back and watched the tree fall.  It made an impressive amount of noise as it crashed to the ground, striking another tree and knocking a couple of its branches off as it thudded.  Various kinds of leaves drifted around him and Harold looked around.               

             
Then, he listened for several moments.

             
He could hear Scape’s footsteps rapidly fading as he furiously ran away.  After a few more moments, he could not hear anyone or anything, and it was still fairly early in the morning.  Most people would have still been eating breakfast, so he felt safe to continue training for the time being.  He found a stick and began trying to protect it from his fire.  The fire sputtered to life, and though he was able to keep it above the stick for quite a long time, the stick eventually caught fire.  He practiced it a few more times, but the result was always the same.

             
Then he called the flames to his body, focusing on the part of the air just above his skin.  The fire burned into existence, and with intense effort, he was able to protect his shorts.  He held it for about another ten seconds, but then he saw them burst into flames.  Harold groaned and doused his flames.  He found another pair of shorts and put them on.

             
He decided to practice multiple air-burns again, but he was not going to push it too far.  He felt like three spots was enough.  The time passed quickly as he became very good at two spots, always landing within inches of his intended locations.  By mid-morning he had air-burned close to a hundred times, and three spots was not difficult anymore.

             
He was getting ready to go home, but he was going to try one more thing before he quit for the day.  He looked around and found two saplings about as thick as his arm, and he looked up into a tree and found a branch that would support his weight.

             
He got a running start and began tumbling, and flung himself high into the air and air-burned.  He appeared in mid-flip above the branch and landed nimbly, then propelled himself toward one of the saplings.  He disappeared in mid-air, and boomed into sight by the small tree.  He kicked with his right leg and as it landed he spotted the other sapling, and spun, bringing his left heel around while simultaneously air-burning.  Thunder sounded, and he felt the second tree snap when he appeared next to it.  He shot a glance at the first tree just in time to see it hit the ground, then caught the other tree in his hand.                He held it aloft for a moment, smiling, and then dropped it to the ground.

             
He grinned and walked to the burlap bag where he changed clothes.  Then he began walking home.  As he made his way through the forest, he felt something that he didn’t like.  Despite his newfound abilities, something was lacking.  It had only been a few days since he had seen her, but he missed Sarah badly.  He knew he had not done anything wrong, but he felt like he was going to have to apologize to her.  He nodded as he thought about a way to impress her and show her that he still cared about her.

             
He ate lunch with Aunt Nean and the kids and then went to the barn.  The mule pinned her head against the side of barn when he began digging through a bucket of Sarah’s nails.  He pulled out one and studied it for a moment.  It would not be large enough on its own, so he dug out a second nail.  He bent one of them in a semi-circle, but its shape wasn’t right.  So, he slightly heated the next nail, and it was easier to shape.  Then he did another the same way.  He put the bent nails in his pocket, and walked to the road.

             
As he walked to the town circle, he looked around.  Children in dirty overalls ran here and there, and mothers and fathers moved around doing various chores.  When he was about halfway to the circle, he saw a young woman who was sweeping her yard stop what she was doing and watch him as he moved down the road.  She smiled and tucked her chin, and waved at him as he passed by.  He politely returned her wave, and almost felt uncomfortable because she stared at him for so long.  He had never really talked to her much, but he thought her name was Kim.

             
As he moved closer to town, he could see a pair of sisters walking towards him.  One of them elbowed the other one and gestured toward Harold.  They whispered into each others’ ears and both giggled as they looked at him in admiration.  He thought they lived on road eleven, and he wondered what they were doing on his side of town.  As they passed by one another, they waved and greeted Harold.  He politely nodded and blushed as he continued on to the circle.

             
After about fifteen more minutes of leisurely walking, he made it to the town circle.  He barely even glanced at Colonel Foxx’s image as he crossed over to the blacksmith shop.  The bell rang as he entered the door. 

             
“Just a minute,” Sarah’s voice called from the back.

             
He could hear her father’s hammer clanging away on something in the back as she turned the corner.  She practically froze in her tracks when she saw him.  She gulped as she crossed her arms.

             
“Can I help you?” she asked meekly.

             
“Yes, ma’am,” Harold said as he pulled out the nails.  “I’ve got a problem that only you can fix.”

             
She looked at him fearfully, suspiciously, and tenderly all at the same time.  He put the bent nails down next to each other, and while she watched, he turned the ends of them to face each other.

             
“You see,” he said as he touched the ends together.  “I’ve got a broken heart, and only a blacksmith can put it back together.”

             
She smiled as she looked at the heart that Harold had crafted from the two bent nails.

             
“Sarah,” he said.  “I’m sorry that I scared you, but I’m still me.  I didn’t do anything wrong, and if it hadn’t happened Ollie and I both would probably be dead.  Please, know that I would never hurt you.  I know it’s weird, but, come on, the High-Born have pets that are half-python and half-eels... And they fly around in invisible ships.”

             
She giggled and he saw her mood lighten, “Harold... It’s really me who should be apologizing to you for avoiding you like I have.  It’s just all so crazy, I don’t know what to think.”

             
“Me neither,” he answered.  “That’s why I need your help getting through this.  You should see the things I can do.  But none of it matters without you.”

             
She took a deep breath and touched his face as she pushed back his hair.

             
“Okay,” she said as her hand went back down to her side.  “What do you want me to do?”

             
“Will you come to the woods with me tomorrow afternoon?” he asked.

             
She nodded her head, “Sure, just meet me here tomorrow after we close.”

             
He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and then excitedly walked back to the door, “See you tomorrow.”

             
She waved as he walked out of the door.  Then she stepped to the window and watched him walk back across the town circle.

Chapter 14

              Harold awoke in a very good mood.  He was ready to start the day.  It had rained last night while Aunt Nean had taught him chapters three and four of Algebra II, and the verbals they had covered in his grammar lesson were now a cinch to him.  Once again, he had not missed any of the questions she had asked him at the end of the night. 

             
But most importantly, he was going to get to see Sarah this afternoon.  He smiled just thinking about it.

             
He looked outside, and it would be about another hour before the sun was up.  He found some leftover cornbread from supper and drank a jar of water.  Then he hurried to the barn because he wanted to get as much work done before daylight as possible.  He thought a moment, and decided to just let the mule pin her head against the side of the barn.

             
He picked up the plow and walked outside with it.  It was still too dark to see very well, and he squinted, wishing he could see more clearly.  To his amazement, the world suddenly became very bright.  He could feel the fire within him pouring itself into his eyes.

             
I can see in the dark!
he thought.

             
While completely unexpected, it was great.  He leveled the plow at the ground, and pushed down on it.  He looked around.  No one was even outside.  So, he took off jogging.  As the dirt split with ease, he was careful to keep an eye open for anyone, but it was still too dark for anyone to see him.  At the end of the first row, he quickly turned, and all but sprinted the entire length of the second row.  Then, the third row.  He ran through row after row, but by the end of the eighth row, he had to take a breather.

             
It did not take him long to catch his breath, and he took off again.  After several more rows, he saw the electricity of Foxx Hole flickering to life.  The kitchen lights in the various houses began sparkling here and there.  It would still be another twenty to thirty minutes before they would be able to see him well, but even at his current progress he still wouldn’t be finished by then.  He wanted to be done with this chore, and he thought about his fire strengthening his eyes.  Another thought occurred to him.

             
Maybe it can make me long winded?
he thought.

             
He focused on his fire, but not so much that it covered him, and pulled it into his legs.  Then he took off running again.  He quickly finished eight more rows, and noticed that he was not nearly as tired as he had been a moment ago.  He was able to plow another eight rows before he began to notice muscle fatigue.  Not only could the fire make him stronger, but it also could give him incredible endurance.  He focused his full attention on the field, and though he was breathing heavily by the time he finished, it was still dark enough to have kept him hidden.  He had to admit that his mule-less plowing session was impressive.  However, it did take him quite a while to catch his breath, and he was very thirsty when he finished.

             
He walked back into the house to find Aunt Nean and the kids just sitting down to eat breakfast.

             
“Good morning, Harold,” Aunt Nean said.  “I thought you were still in bed.”

             
“I had trouble sleeping, so I went ahead and started plowing, so I can get finished with planting by the end of the day,” he replied.

             
“Are you hungry?” she asked.

             
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered.

             
Cooper and Ollie both just smiled at him as he sat down.  They still looked sleepy as they began eating their biscuits.  Ollie got up and walked over to him, and crawled up in his lap and sat with her head laid against his shoulder as she absently chewed her biscuit.  Aunt Nean smiled as she looked at her hug Harold, and he ate his biscuit while cradling her in his arms. 

             
“So how much have you plowed?” Aunt Nean asked.

             
Harold hesitated before he answered, “The whole field.”

             
Aunt Nean looked at him strangely.  She started to say something, and then looked as if she had seen a ghost.  She lightly took a bite of her biscuit and even though she was not looking at him, Harold could see that she knew he was not telling the truth.  There was something to her look that struck something in Harold, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. 

             
Then they all just sat silently, eating biscuits and drinking the powdered milk that Cooper had gotten from the High-Born the week before.  It was actually one of the few things that the High-Born made sure that Low-Born people had adequate amounts of, and Harold was mildly thankful for that small mercy.  But deep down, he knew that they did it just to make sure their slaves were strong enough to perform labor—it was not out of kindness.

             
After about fifteen minutes Harold heard a snort coming from his shoulder and he looked down at Ollie.  She had fallen back to sleep.  Harold looked at Aunt Nean and she smiled and motioned with her head for him to take her back to her room.

             
When he returned to the kitchen, Cooper was standing at the door looking outside.

             
“I’m gonna’ help you today,” he said.  “I’d rather work in the field than read.”

             
“Alrighty, then,” Harold smiled.  “Let’s go get that seed and get started.”

             
Soon, the two of them were in the field planting.  They planted in silence for a few minutes with Harold laying the seed and Cooper covering it up.  Cooper looked around and was satisfied that no one could hear him.

             
“I wonder where Scape is?” Cooper asked.

             
“Probably off hunting birds,” Harold answered.

             
Cooper shrugged, “I haven’t seen him much lately.”

             
“He’s probably just been wondering around the woods,” Harold answered.

             
“Have you been able to catch yourself on fire anymore?” he smiled, wide-eyed and excited.  “It’s all me and Scott talk about.”

             
“I hope no one can hear y’all talking,” Harold answered.

             
“Can’t nobody hear nothin’,” Cooper smiled.  “Scott’s got a secret base, and that’s the only place we’re allowed to talk about how Fire-Man, Wolf-Man, and Tiger-Man will set all of us free one day.”

             
Harold smiled at him, “Where’s Scott’s secret base?”

             
“You got to swear you won’t tell,” Cooper suddenly looked serious.