Maia and the Xifarian Conspiracy (The Lightbound Saga Book 1) (12 page)

“Well, did one of you make the craft or not?” Karhann asked impatiently.

“I did,” Ren said, “and I will tell the master the truth.”

“All right,” Karhann replied. “Let’s go then.”

“Maybe the whole team should go,” Lex piped again, grinning wide.

“No,” Ren protested. “I built that thing, and I will go . . . alone.”

As Karhann and Ren walked into the instruction room, Lex cackled, his posse joining him on cue.

“Stop screeching like idiots,” Nafi yelled. She stood with her fists clenched, lips trembling in anger.

Lex cocked an eyebrow. “The pocket-sized powerhouse of Team Cowards is angry.”

“What’s your problem, Lex?” Kusha said through gritted teeth. His face had turned a bright crimson.

“I don’t have a problem, not anymore. I did have one when you insulted me in front of the crowd in Arpasgula—you and your band of girlfriends. Now we’re even. And for your information, I do have my team together, just like I wanted. I hail from a very powerful house. My family can snap you and your bunch of no-name friends like a twig,” he said with a vicious imitation of breaking an imaginary stick.

“Maybe your family can take your training sessions for you as well then. That way, you might survive the first month here, seeing that you can hardly fit a spoke onto a wheel,” Dani said, fixing an icy stare on Lex.

Lex turned to look at Dani, nose scrunching with disdain. “How would you know what family is? You pitiful orphan.”

Before Dani could reply, Kusha took a clean punch at Lex, landing a powerful blow on his cheek that left him sprawled on the floor. After a moment of stunned surprise, Lex’s boys jumped on Kusha with cries of fury.

Maia could not clearly recall the commotion that followed. She vaguely remembered trying to yank Kusha out of the brawl, as did Dani and Nafi and a few others in the crowd. By the time a strong hand pulled Maia up from the ground, her temple hurt from an elbow that had crashed into her head. Her hair was disheveled, and her friends did not look any better. Kusha had a gash on his cheek, and Lex’s gang sported similar cuts and bruises.

“What do you think you’re doing?” asked a boy who held Maia firmly by her arm. He was wearing the black colors of Circle Four. His brows were furrowed.

A girl, also a senior, stepped in to break up the groups. “Move along. Let’s hope the master hasn’t heard the noise. Come on . . . hurry up.”

“We will get you sooner or later,” Lex hissed. His cronies scowled and snorted, shaking their fists before taking reluctant steps away.

The girl squinted and peered at Kusha after Lex and his gang had left. “You are on Miir’s team, aren’t you?”

“Oh, you’re so dead.” The boy who had pulled Maia out pronounced with a dour shake of his head. “Get inside now, your session is starting.”

Maia and her friends scrambled inside, rushing to take their places before the master started the lesson. They found Ren in his seat, assembling his craft in silence. His mouth fell open upon seeing his scuffed teammates. “What happened?”

“Got into a fight with Lex and gang,” Nafi replied simply.

“What happened with you?” Kusha inquired of Ren.

“I’ve been warned. He added my name to his Black Book. One more strike and I’ll be sent packing,” Ren explained. “And I have to pitch in for a week as Karhann’s assistant during the first challenge.”

“That’s not too bad,” Dani noted.

“Not at all. He hasn’t thrown us out of the competition . . . yet.” Nafi definitely sounded relieved. “And that Lex, I will break his nose someday, I promise.”

Even with the throbbing ache in her head, Maia felt proud. She was happy that although late, they had chosen to do the right thing in the end, and they had stuck together through it all.

The remainder of the session was peaceful. A brief moment of panic ensued when Master Kehorkjin raised a curious eyebrow at Kusha’s livid cut. He also seemed to take note of Lex and his friends and the bruises on their faces, but to everyone’s surprise and relief, he did not ask any questions. The gang was exhausted when they trooped back toward their quarters that evening.

“Oh goodness,” Kusha muttered under his breath as they turned onto the passageway leading to the dining area.

Maia’s heart sank at the sight; their mentor, Miir, was pacing near the entrance. As soon as he saw them approach, he strode up to the disheveled band. From the expression on his face, Maia surmised that he had been told of the day’s incidents and did not care much for the heroics of his charges.

“How dare you behave in this disgraceful way?” Miir yelled, glaring at their droopy faces. Maia felt his accusatory glance rest longer on her before it moved on to the next person. “It is just your second day here, and you have already been flouting the instructor’s rules, wrestling on the grounds, and barely missing disqualification. What else do you have planned?”

“Miir . . . it was an accident,” Ren started to explain.

“I do not care about how and why.” Miir raised his left hand decisively. “I shall promise you this: one more report of misbehavior and I shall personally see to it that you are thrown out of here. I refuse to be humiliated by your shameful conduct.”

Maia could hardly believe her ears. He refused to hear their explanation, let alone even consider that they had been wronged.
All he cared about was his humiliation?

“How can you not care to know? You’re supposed to be our mentor, our guide, our counsel,” she blurted. “We didn’t do it on purpose, and that makes a difference. How can you not even listen to what we have to say?”

Miir stood in shocked disbelief, glowering at Maia as she spoke. “You dare to lecture me about my responsibilities when you do not even know what your own are?” he replied in a voice so harsh that Maia flinched. A group of trainees stared and smirked as they passed. “You were picked leader of the group, and it is your duty more than anyone else to keep your team out of trouble. And here you are, shamelessly trying to defend your lapses.”

Maia’s insides squirmed. His words stung, but they were not exactly untrue.
I should have done something—stopped Ren or talked to Master Kehorkjin immediately or something . . . anything that could have prevented this muddle.

As Maia’s gaze wavered, Miir decided to raise the offensive a notch. “I guess you do not care about this competition. Judging by your eagerness to talk back, your only goal seems to be going back to that dump you came from.”

Maia blinked at his last words, hushed momentarily by their cruelty. She held her breath, struggling to stop from reacting, and then decided against it. She did not care if he was a celebrity; she would not let him insult her heritage.

“I would
love
to go back to that dump anytime. I don’t like your pretty castle anyway,” Maia retorted, fighting back the hurt and the fear. “You should have stopped Pomewege from bringing me here in the first place. But if you succeed in sending me away even now, I’ll be very thankful to you for it.”

Miir did not say a word. Then a small smile twisted his face, and his eyes narrowed. Maia braced herself, realizing immediately that his response would be pitiless. For the briefest moment she regretted having spoken at all.

“Thank you for reminding me. The likes or dislikes of an insignificant person like you tend to slip my mind.” His voice was a merciless whisper. “But I shall remember this—and if you do not mend your ways, I pledge to see to it that you are sent away. No . . . not to the dump you love to belong, but to places where they would enjoy crushing that unruly spirit of yours. I promise.”

Maia watched as he turned and left, her appetite vanishing with his retreating form. As they trudged back to their rooms in complete silence, Dani hooked her arm around Maia’s, but the evening had already been marred.

21: The TEK Club Tryouts

After the first week, Maia felt more at ease, her homesickness almost forgotten in the constant running between instruction sessions. She was now prepared to accept that there would be no early escape from Xif. She realized that not only was she part of a team but also the team lead, which meant she had to place the needs of the team ahead of her own. She had to make an effort to support her teammates through the next few months until her commitments as a leader ended. It was not going to be easy; she could not make herself feel as enthusiastic about the Initiative as the rest of her teammates did, at least not overnight, but she could try. And she would try.

Matters thus fell into place. The only two things that remained at their painful best were their grumpy Kinetics Master and their stuck-up mentor. Also, Ren seemed to vanish without a trace at least every other evening, surfacing at the dining bay the next morning. Thankfully, Nafi did not raise an alarm about it, although from her expression it was clear that she could barely contain her curiosity. Of course, if Nafi did not voice her concerns, the others were not too eager to pry either. Maia, however, made a mental note to ask Ren of his whereabouts at an opportune moment, given her obligations as the leader of the team.

One day, after working on machine designs, the group headed toward the dining bay. The day had started off well, but then instead of their usual trip to the nice and cheery Design Studios, they had been sent to tour an old project room for an introduction to ancient tools and equipment. The excursion was far from entertaining; no one was eager to handle the heavy and unwieldy hammers or tongs that not just looked ferocious, but were also quite capable of biting their heads off. When Master Kehorkjin decided to step in and assign tasks, matters got progressively worse. Someone forgot to shut off the grease faucet, and Kenan, the bushy-haired boy, slipped and fell into a tumbler full of sprockets. In another corner of the room, a girl dropped one of the fearsome tongs on her foot and had to be carried to the infirmary. Of course, Master Kehorkjin did not pass over a single chance of lecturing the class on the importance of being alert and attentive. By the time they were excused, everybody was tired; the walk back to the dining bay seemed endless.

“What’s going on here?” Nafi said squinting as they lumbered down the stairs.

One floor above the visitors’ quarters, where the Circle One section doorway opened at the mouth of the glass staircase, a very large crowd had gathered. It was quite unusual to see people swarm together at the XDA, so the curious gang came to a halt. As they watched, a girl with long, black hair broke away from the pack and started down the stairs.

“Let’s ask her,” Ren rushed forward.

“Wait, she’s the one from Karhann’s team,” Nafi shot a warning note, but Ren had already bounded up to the girl.

She was tall, even taller than Kusha. Her pitch-black hair hung past her waist like a dark silk curtain, and her almond-shaped eyes were placed a little wide apart. What was odd, Maia realized, was the complete lack of warmth on her face as she stared at the group, as if she were wearing a mask.

“Hello, I’m Ren.”

The girl did not even blink, let alone smile back.

“I . . . um . . . we wanted to know what’s going on in there?” Ren asked, pointing at the crowd.

“The TEK Club tryouts, tonight at the Dusilado Arena, after dinner hours,” she replied in a cold, emotionless voice.

Maia noticed Ren’s eyes light up.

“I have to go now,” the girl said.

“Oh yes, sorry for holding you up. Umm . . . what’s your name?” Ren gushed, his cheeks flushing a little, as the girl turned to leave. “I mean, I’ve seen you during instructions, but we’ve never been introduced.”

“Are these little people bothering you, Yoome?” Karhann had materialized noiselessly behind them with Nafi’s cousin Loriine in tow.

As Loriine scowled and placed herself protectively by Yoome’s side, the dark-haired girl shrugged listlessly.

“Bothering her?” Nafi shot back. “We were just trying to find out about the TEK Club tryouts. And who are you calling ‘little people’?”

Karhann’s face broke into a teasing smirk. “You didn’t know about the tryouts?”

“Why would they need to know?” Loriine snickered. “They don’t belong here anyway.”

“Well, it’s been going on for the last two days, and tonight is the final round,” Karhann informed with a generous chuckle, “the LS4.”

“You missed Karhann’s tryout,” Loriine added. “He did a wonderful display for LS3.”

“That really is heartbreaking,” Nafi sneered, never missing a chance to be the spokesperson of the group. “Since that’s all we’re here for . . . to watch Karhann try out for the TEK Club.”

Karhann ignored the comment and turned to leave. Loriine made a face at the bewildered gang before leading Yoome away.

“What was that all about?” Maia found her voice after the trio had left.

“She’s on the K team, and they’re a tad touchy about socializing with us,” Nafi said, stomping noisily toward the dining bay. She kept grumbling and muttering to herself. “Little people, huh? You’ll see who has the last laugh.”

“Not that. I mean about the TEK Club?” Maia said as they picked their meal boxes.

“You’ll find out soon,” Ren replied.

“What’s bothering you, Ren?” Dani asked.

“Karhann didn’t have to be so rude and obnoxious, like I was going to bite her or something,” he said ruefully.

“Maybe she’s his girlfriend?” Kusha said as he dug into his food.

“I thought Loriine had that spot,” scoffed Nafi.

“Who cares about Karhann’s girlfriend?” Maia waved them away impatiently. “All I want to know about is this TEK thing, and why everyone is going gaga over it.”

“TEK is short for telekinetics. Ever heard of that?” Ren asked. Immediately all ears were cocked in his direction.

“The TEK Club is hosting its annual tryouts for new members. Every year they enroll new trainees from Circle One and anyone who has telekinetic or TEK power is free to take the tests.”

He paused to eat a spoonful as the others waited restlessly to hear more.

“The TEK Club is a very powerful and exclusive club with extensive ties to the rich and powerful in Xifarian society. Club members usually make the top appointees and best-placed apprentices in any of the agencies here on Xif. That’s the reason anyone and everyone wants to get in.”

“And what does LS stand for?” Dani asked.

“It’s the Level of Strength,” Ren explained. “LS2 is mostly strength-related exercises, which do not require much precision control, like lifting objects and other simple moves. The next level includes the tests of balance, which needs more precise manipulation of the powers. The LS4 category is where the participants have mastered a high level of accuracy in their moves. All levels beyond this involve much more than these basic proficiencies.”

“Are you going to try out, Ren?” Nafi asked.

“No, they only allow students to compete,” Ren replied gruffly. After a reflective pause, he spoke again in a very low voice. “And then, I’m not good at it. To be honest, I have no TEK powers at all.”

They fell silent, staring blankly at an unusually dejected Ren who sat with his eyes cast down, his face dark and gloomy.

Then Dani spoke up. “So? I don’t think any of us are any good at it either,” she said.

“Thanks, Dani. But it’s not the same,” Ren said, his voice still doleful. “Among my people, it’s something you are expected to be born with. Even my little brother can—”

“Maybe you’ll get better,” Dani comforted. “Hans always says that you have to keep trying until you succeed.”

“I do keep hoping.” A tiny bit of liveliness seeped into Ren’s voice. Then he looked up, pushed his chair back, and sprung to his feet. “Well, I’ve had enough of this whining. Let’s go, we’re going to be late for the tryouts. At this rate we’ll never get any of the front seats.”

Maia sighed with relief. She did not care much about TEK, but she hated seeing the boisterous Ren look so miserable. And she was not alone; everyone seemed glad to see him happy and in character again. They chirped gaily as they walked to the Hall of Spires, and then took a path along the left edge of the hall instead of the usual march across to the opposite end. The very first door on the left was the Dusilado Arena and by the looks of the long line of people waiting impatiently at the entrance, the TEK Club tryouts seemed extremely popular. The Hall of Spires looked strangely warm; the crowds, the bustle, and the flurry of action made it feel a lot less unnerving than usual.

“Kusha,” Nafi squinted, and then smiled wide as the group stood at the end of the serpentine line. “What makes you take that thing off?”

“What?” Kusha asked. He looked puzzled as everyone stared at him.

“Your stupid headband.”

“It’s not stupid, and for the hundredth time, Nafi, I’m
not
taking it off,” Kusha replied scowling, his hand reaching toward his forehead. Then he turned the ghostliest shade of gray.

“It’s gone.”

He fell to his knees before anyone could blink, peeking around people’s feet. It took a few moments before Maia and the rest of the team joined him, craning their necks, hoping it might have fallen nearby. But there was no sign of the headband in the immediate vicinity.

“I need to go back to the old project room and everywhere else I’ve been today,” Kusha said, panic surging in his eyes.

“Can’t it wait till tomorrow?” Dani suggested. “Since we are nearly at the gate here—”

“No,” Kusha’s voice shook a little. “You guys go and watch the tryouts. I’ll run around and look for it.”

“Come on, people, move on,” someone yelled from behind. With all the searching and the talking, they had failed to keep up with the urgent pace of the crowd behind them. Nafi made a face at the back of the line as they shuffled closer to the door.

“Will you be able to find your way there and back?” Ren asked Kusha.

Kusha fidgeted. Maia did not know about Kusha, but she knew she would lose her way, thanks to the countless halls, corridors, and rooms of the vast complex.

“I’ll come with you,” Ren declared, stepping out of the line.

“No, you want to see this,” Kusha protested. “You stay, I’ll be fine.”

“I’m coming anyway. The best you can do to help is start running.”

The boys took off immediately, sprinting around the spires.

“Are you coming in?” The girls had reached the head of the line. A black-clad senior monitoring the arena door frowned irritably at the three absentminded girls.

“Umm . . . I don’t know,” Dani mumbled, turning to look at Maia and Nafi behind her.

Maia knew what Dani meant; although curious to go inside, she did not want to watch when Kusha and Ren were caught up in something else. She also wanted to help Kusha find the headband, since it evidently meant a lot to him. Maia turned to look at Nafi and guessing by the way her eyes sparkled, she did not seem to think any differently.

“Let’s go,” Maia whispered.

“We’ll be back later,” Nafi hollered at the gatekeepers as they rushed away.

Soon they caught up with the boys and together they descended on the old project room that looked even more ominous at night. But that did not deter the team from crawling under the desks, rummaging through the tool bins, and even daring to move the ferocious-looking hammers and tongs around to look underneath them. A tiring while later, a wretched Kusha was on the verge of giving up when Maia spotted a patch of red among the heap of tertiary propellers. Cautiously she tugged at the end until it came free, the soft wool band springing into her outstretched palm. Its intricately woven surface was weary and washed out in areas, but some patches were still vibrant and soft to the touch. Maia leaned forward to look closely at the golden etching on one side of the band that looked like a child’s scribbled drawing of the sun. She had never noticed it when Kusha wore the band around his head; his unruly hair must have been hiding it.

“Found it,” she shouted. Kusha was beside her in a heartbeat, and the band was back on his head before Maia could blink.

“Finally,” Ren yelled.

“I was starting to think of places to get a replacement for that,” Dani said.

“You can’t get a replacement for this. Why do you think I was going crazy all this while?” Kusha said, touching the band affectionately.

“Because you’re a little weird like that?” Ren snickered.

“No, because this is very important to me,” Kusha explained, indulgent at Ren’s dig. “It’s my . . . it is an inheritance.”

“And here I was thinking we had finally rid ourselves of the stupid headband,” Nafi said. For the first time Maia detected a hint of lightheartedness in her voice. Kusha must have felt it too because he chuckled loudly.

They stood for a while, relieved to have found what was clearly important to their friend.

“If we run, we can still catch a part of the tryouts,” Dani broke the happy silence.

The mad dash back to the Dusilado Arena left them breathless as they came to a stop at the door. The place looked different from when they had last seen it. Gone was the serpentine line of eager spectators with its excited murmurs, the pushing and the shoving and the sharp banter. Even the two seniors who had flanked the door were absent.