Chapter 11
Falcon analyzed the creature with utmost awe. He’d heard many stories of sandworms, though he’d never dreamt he would get to see one in real life. The Golden Wielder himself had been known to have tamed them in his time, though Falcon doubted he would be able to replicate such a feat. The creature before him was gigantic, easily over forty feet in length. It had a circular set of fangs around its mouth. Its skin looked hardened, as if it was made out of rock.
“What now?” whispered Faith.
Falcon shrugged, unsure of what to do to get past such a gargantuan creature.
“This is all wrong,” said Sheridan. “I didn’t pay much attention in animal class, but even I know that sandworms are native to Missea. What is one doing way out here on the outskirts of Ladria?”
“My guess is that it was left to protect the oil rocks,” Aya said quietly. “I’ve heard stories of sandworms being trained from birth by large corporations. It was probably left here so that no one else could take the rocks during the scorch season.”
“The reason doesn’t matter,” said Falcon. “We need to find a way to get the rocks without waking it up. Anyone have a plan?”
“I do.” Aya took out a small leather bag from the pouch she’d been carrying. “I can be very light on my feet. I will tiptoe over there, get what we need, and come back.”
Seeing that no one had any better plans, they all watched as Aya slowly made her way to the black rocks. Falcon cringed as Aya walked beside the sleeping worm. Every breath from its massive body made his heartbeat skip a beat. What if it woke?
Luckily, Aya seemed to know what she was doing. She crouched down, ever so carefully picked up a few rocks, and placed them in the bag. She moved at a steady pace, and in a matter of seconds the bag was filled to the top. She turned, gave them a thumbs up, and began walking back to them.
“It’s a wormy!” Hiromy suddenly shrieked. “I want to go touch it.” Before Falcon could figure out what was happening, Hiromy took off in a full sprint.
“Come back!” Sheridan half yelled and half whispered. But if the princess heard him, she didn’t show it. She ran over the oil rocks at top speed with her hands held before her.
The worm sprang to life. It moved its head from side to side. It spotted Hiromy and roared at the top of its lungs. Even from afar, Falcon took in the rotten stench that emitted from the creature.
Hiromy seemed to have decided that petting the giant, man-eating worm probably wasn’t the best idea. She moved back, muttering gibberish under her breath.
“Get away from her!” Sheridan dashed toward the worm. As he ran, he twirled both arms in a tornado-like fashion. From them, small meteors shot at the worm. The rocks bounced off the creature’s thick skin with next to no effect.
That’s never going to work
, thought Falcon. He needs more power. Determined, he jumped into the fray, calling on his immense pool of energy. He threw himself in the air, feet first. He converged his energy in his stomach and then redirected it down to his legs. The air in front of his soles warmed as uneven lines of fire shot out. One missed the worm’s face by mere inches, but the second attack hit it directly above its jawed mouth.
With staggering speed, the creature ignored the attack and jerked its body.
Falcon’s eyes widened, as he noticed the large mass of hard flesh headed his way. Quickly, he jumped into the air, using wind to boost his jump to twenty feet in the air. He landed safely out of the worm’s reach.
The creature growled angrily and slid toward Falcon.
Wind boost
. Once again, Falcon called on the power of wind to take to the air. The creature, however, was smarter than Falcon had anticipated. It recoiled the top part of its body, almost as if it were forcing its head into itself. Then, with surprising agility, it jumped into the air with its mouth wide open.
Falcon’s chest clenched as he noticed he was about to become lunch. Even if he wind wielded to the right or left, there was no way he was going to dodge in time.
Falcon was inches from becoming a meal when what appeared to be a translucent rainbow wall crashed into his face. A second later, the worm pummeled into the same wall. It screeched in agony as it crumpled to the floor, landing with a thunderous thump. The tall rocky wall beside them cracked, sending thousands of smaller rocks rolling down to join the oil rocks that had already fallen.
“Thanks for the shield, Faith,” said Falcon, heaving with relief. “I thought it was over for me.”
Faith nodded as she brought the shield down.
The worm shook its head, trying to regain its senses.
“We have to hit it together!” yelled Falcon. “Its body is too strong.”
“No,” countered Aya. She stood beside the other four wielders. “There’s no use wasting our energy on this animal. Even if we beat it, there is no strategic advantage in it. We came for the rocks.” She held the bag up. “And we got them.”
“What do you suggest, Nakatomi?” Sheridan spoke in a hasty speech, as his eyes remained locked on the worm that was seconds away from continuing its attack.
“You and Falcon need to space wield us out of here. Send us to—”
“Watch out!” Faith’s cry barely came in time. The four wielders scattered to the ground, dodging the worm’s wild attack by inches. It quickly turned its head, drool dripping from its fangs as it brought its body down on the wielders.
“Aqua Trianja!” Without warning, a water trident half the size of the creature flew through the air and rammed into the back of the worm’s head. It didn’t pierce the hard skin, but it was enough to knock it out. The ground shook as the creature dropped face first into the rocks. It remained there, motionless.
“Great job, Aya,” said Falcon, shocked. He’d seen Aya create water attacks before but never to such a scale.
Aya got to her feet. Her clothes were caked in black from the oil. “That wasn’t me.”
“Then who? Hiromy?” He looked around himself, and sure enough, she was standing behind them, huffing loudly.
“The monster almost squished Sheridan,” she said between breaths. “Couldn’t let it.”
“Let’s hurry and get out of here before it wakes up,” Aya suggested.
Nobody argued with her as they all grouped up together.
Sheridan looked worried. “I don’t think Hyatt and I are good enough to get us as far as Makeda. I’ve only been there once. It’s going to be hard for me to picture the village.”
“I’ve been there a few times,” said Falcon. “Let me think of most of the images, you just provide the space energy.”
Sheridan nodded and closed his eyes. Falcon did the same. Unlike other elements, space energy was more highly condensed in the eyes. He felt the power emit from there, until it travelled down to his chest and to the tip of his fingers.
The energy of the cosmos slowly surrounded them. Sheridan’s energy was much more refined than his, but his had more raw power.
A large black hole opened and, without much of a whimper, the five wielders were pulled into it.
~~~
Their fall out of the black hole was less than graceful, to say the least. Falcon and Sheridan were the first to come out. They landed hard on their backs. Ignoring the pain, Falcon looked over at Sheridan, who was grunting under his breath.
Before he could ask where the girls were, three bodies rained from above, one of them landing on him.
“You were supposed to bring us out vertically,” said Aya as she stood. Her clothes were now not only stained with oil but grass as well. Her silky hair, usually perfect, looked like a matted mess.
“Sorry,” said Falcon. “I tried, but we don’t coordinate all that well together.” Memories of the Tiazhan game he and Sheridan had lost to Laars flashed in his mind. He reached out to Hiromy, who had landed on him and wasn’t moving, and tapped her shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?”
She lifted her head from his chest and smiled at him. “Yes.” Her eyes were full of wonder, like a child with a new toy. “I was listening to your heart. It beats at such a wonderful rate. I could listen to it all day.”
“I’m sure my heart also beats at a wonderful rate,” said Sheridan, hastily picking himself up. “If you ever want to listen to it!”
Hiromy stood, still smiling. “No, it’s fine. I’ve had my fill for the day.”
Sheridan frowned but refrained from saying anything else.
“So where are we?” asked Faith. Like Aya, her clothes were covered in grass stains. Her hair, too, was not as pristine as it usually was. He’d expected as much. After all they had crossed a forest, traversed a desert, and fought a sandworm in a matter of days.
“It looks like the riverbank that leads to Makeda.” Aya turned toward the space wielders. “Good job, guys. You saved us a long walk.”
Falcon took in their surroundings. Indeed, they were on a grassy prairie beside a raging river. Salmon jumped out of the water in perfect arcs, landing with soft splashes. No doubt they were on their annual migration. Off in the distance, a large jade mountain chain rose from the ground. A few scattered pine trees dotted the area around them but not too many. If this were any other time, Falcon thought, this would be the perfect place to have a picnic. Perhaps even fish for the day or go hunting. But it was not one of those times, and the way things were headed, he doubted it was ever going to be.
“Which way do we go from here, Nakatomi?”
Aya pointed south. “We follow the river. It will take us directly to the port village of Makeda. We’ll find who we’re looking for there. At least I hope we will.”
The wielders took off, following the winding river. The scenery didn’t change much. Once in a while they would see an elk in the distance, but they would all take off after they heard Hiromy’s cheerful screams.
Falcon walked beside Aya. “You look tired.”
“I
am
very tired.”
“A lot has happened in the last few days. Do you want to talk about it?”
“No. I’m fine.”
Falcon swallowed hard, trying not to show his uneasiness. He’d known Aya for years, and though she wasn’t one to whine and complain about her problems, she never had a problem talking to him about what was going on with her. In a way he felt as though he was losing her. Or at least losing the friendship that he had counted on for so long.
Nonetheless, not wanting to impose, he left her alone.
A few steps ahead of him, Faith and Hiromy walked, deep in conversation. He couldn’t hear everything they said, but he did make out a few words here and there coming from Faith.
“You shouldn’t just run toward everything you see,” she said. “It could be dangerous.”
“But I just wanted to touch it.” Hiromy glared at Faith, her smile turning into a frown. “I like animals.”
“Me too. They are my favorite. But we must be careful. Some of them will attack you.”
Hiromy looked confused. “Why? I just want to be their friend.”
“They don’t understand. So we must be careful.”
The princess kicked small pebbles under her. “I don’t understand. I…I…” Her body began to shake. She threw herself on the floor and sat cross-legged. The stone pebbles crunched loudly as she repeatedly beat them with her balled fists. “I don’t understand, don’t understand…”
Sheridan, always at the ready when it came to Hiromy, ran to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. This seemed to calm her a bit. She stopped hitting the ground, though she continued to nod and mumble under her breath.
“What happened?” asked Sheridan, his eyes glassy.
Faith answered without a moment’s hesitation. “It’s my fault. I was trying to help her.” Her voice was full of guilt. “I didn’t intend to trigger another outbreak.”
“No,” said Sheridan, helping Hiromy up to her feet. The princess rested her head on his shoulder. “You were just helping. She’s tired, that’s all. Once we get to Makeda she should nap for a few hours. I’m sure that will help.”
Falcon, however, had his doubts. Hiromy had been showing progress in the last few days. Now, it looked as though she had reverted back to her old self. Who was to say that this wouldn’t be a common occurrence? Taking two steps forward, just to later take three back.
“Hey, Hyatt!” yelled Sheridan. “Are you just going to stay back there?”
Sheridan’s voice brought him back to the present. “No. On my way.”
As they walked across the riverbank by the meadow, they spotted signs that they were getting closer to the village. Trees that had been cut down to the stump. Broken fishing rods that had been left atop large rocks. Stomped grass where picnic blankets had been set up. Shrubbery that had had all its blueberries picked clean off.
Sure enough, as they took a sharp turn to the right, off in the distance, veiled by a white mist, was collection of buildings. From afar it appeared as nothing more than a blob of brown and gray, nestled between a large blue sea on one side and a mass of green on the other.
But as they got closer, the details took shape. Dozens of sea-faring ships bobbed serenely on the pier, being held by thick rope tied to their metal poles. The ground that led into the city was paved in yellow stones that had been carved evenly to create a flat walking ground. There was no wall around the village, which exposed row after row of tall buildings. In the streets, there were hundreds of people milling about. Many carried nets of freshly caught fish over their shoulders. Others sat atop horse-drawn wagons filled with everything from squid to seaweed, rice, salmon, carps, or mollusks.