The Last War (Book #9 of the Sage Saga) (21 page)

“The atmosphere changes every day,” Olivia said as she paced around Remi.

Remi sighed and rolled her eyes. “I already know this.”

“No, you don’t. Otherwise you would have mentioned it.”

“Everyone knows about the atmosphere changes.”

“They know intellectually, but they don’t know emotionally and physically. Even now I can feel the transformation in the air around me. Foreign particles that were once settled are now kicked up and dancing all around me. I’m breathing them in and they are becoming a part of me, slowly changing everything that I am. I gain my power from the atmosphere, and—”

“—I gain my power from within,” Remi interrupted. Olivia paused and mulled over her words.

“What makes you say that?”

“Your abilities make sense. Being able to heat up your body? That’s something everyone can do. However, in your case, the atmosphere altered your cells in a way that you can go beyond that. We’ve seen people in our town develop super sight, or have the ability to control their flow of adrenaline, heal their sick bodies at a rapid rate or defy gravity itself. But me? What’s the point of what I can do? An eidolon is a part of my soul, but from what we’ve heard, people could do what I do before the worlds collided.”

“What are you really saying?”

“I’m saying that the atmosphere doesn’t affect me the way it does for you and the others.”

Olivia scoffed. “So you’re special now? Because that guy told you so?”

Remi waved her hands up in the air frantically. “No, I’m not trying to be egotistical. But I have put a lot of thought into this, and I just can’t shake the feeling that all of this has to mean something.”

“What I’m hearing is that my training doesn’t matter to you.”

“I don’t know if it does,” Remi said honestly. “But…I…I do want to hear what you have to say. Even if I might not be able to use any of your advice.”

“You should have just kept your mouth shut and told me afterwards.”

“I didn’t know how long you were going to talk,” Remi cringed. “And time is short. A year, remember?”

“Yeah, I know,” she muttered, closing her eyes. “Okay, well, what I’m saying is at least something you should consider. Just because you might get your power from
within,
that doesn’t mean the air you’re breathing doesn’t have an effect on you.”

“I know,” Remi replied. She dared not say anymore. She could tell by the tapping of Olivia’s feet and her tense, raised shoulders that she was on the brink of going home. “So…what were you saying?”

“I was explaining to you how I gain strength from the atmosphere. It’s subtle differences because we’ve lived here all our lives, but I imagine that as we travel to the other worlds, things might change. Terra had a different composition once, and so the air might not be the same. It’s something I’ll have to keep in mind.”

“Me too. My eidolon might get weaker when I bring it out.”

“Hey, I have a question for you.”

“Yeah?”

“Can you do more than take out that thing?” Remi’s eyes widened in surprise. What made Olivia think of that? Now that she thought about it, it was the first time she had taken out her eidolon in front of her. That must have been a shock, and she wouldn’t be surprised if her friend now felt a betrayal of trust over it. It wasn’t that she was trying to be secretive about it. Just that she truly thought of the eidolon that low on the scale of importance. Still, the damage was now done, and there was no reason to hide anything else.

“I can do one more thing,” Remi admitted, taking a deep breath.

“Show me,” Olivia demanded, and Remi was happy to oblige.

“I can only do this for a few seconds, so pay attention.” Remi clenched her fists tight and concentrated on transforming her body. A second later, the dust blew away from all around her and she was in the middle of an invisible bubble. There was no air to be found inside, as if she had just been transported into the very vacuum of space. She couldn’t breathe, but again, it would only take a few seconds.

Her hair was suddenly cut short, as if the roots had receded inside of her head half-way, and the follicles had stiffened. Slowly, as if a caterpillar was spiraling around each of her winds, a trail of lily white fabric followed, clothing her from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head, donning her in a hooded robe that hung low enough to cover her forehead.

The bubble burst, and Olivia was slightly thrown back with the dirt around her flying into her face. The winds caused by Remi’s sudden freedom scrapped the walls of the buildings near them clean. Remi never understood why wind came out when the bubble burst, but she had to admit that it was a cool effect. Olivia was in awe over her friend’s transformation.

But as promised, it was only for a few seconds.

Suddenly, the robe disappeared in the blink of an eye. And Remi fell to her knees in exhaustion, sweating so profusely that her skin was getting clammy from the light breeze around them. Olivia rushed forward and grabbed Remi’s fallen poncho from the ground. She lightly wiped it off though it was now cleaner than it had been in weeks, and then she placed it carefully over her friend’s shoulders.

“What was that?” Olivia whispered and Remi tried to smile, but it hurt too much.

“I got stronger…just…just…for a second,” Remi rasped. She wrapped her arms around her abdomen and began rocking in place.

“It seems like it really takes a toll on you though,” Olivia observed. “Is it even worth it?”

“No,” Remi whispered weakly. Olivia bent down and wrapped her arms around her.

“We still have plenty of time to get stronger.”

“I don’t know…if I want to work on that,” Remi huffed, gaining back a little of her breath.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUTSIDE?!” a familiar voice screamed from in front of them. The two girls looked up to see that the raid group had returned, and from the sunken eyes and crestfallen faces, they had come back empty handed. Remi’s eyes fell upon her mother, glaring back at her with a clenched jaw and a fire in her eyes.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUTSIDE?” she screamed as she stormed ahead of the pack and straight for Remi. Olivia tensed up as she saw the woman approaching, but Remi’s mother knew better than to attack her daughter. The blows may kill her and Remi could still be useful in life rather than death, even if it was only to be future bait for some horrible monster.

“I just wanted to get out the house,” Remi muttered. Her mother grabbed her jaw with her dirty hands and lifted her face until their eyes were level.

“You know that makes you sicker! And what are you going to do if you run a fever again? We don’t have any food to give you strength.”

“Then I would die, I guess.” Remi decided to test her.

“At least our house would get more to eat,” her mother spat on the ground. Remi bowed her head and her mother roughly let go of her jaw.

“No success?” Remi muttered as her mother turned to face the returning raid group. There were certainly less people than those that had left.

“None at all.”

“Where’s Father?”

“Still out there looking. I would be out there with him if we didn’t have more pressing business to attend to.”

“Business?”

“Bring the wretch forward.” Remi raised her gaze and saw four men carrying a long and dirty sack. Each of the men were bent down low, as the weight of what was inside drained their already depleted energy. They couldn’t make it to Remi’s mother. Tapped out of energy, they dropped the sack to the dirt and began huffing as they leaned onto their knees. Remi’s mother shook her head and proceeded to open one end of the sack, carefully untying the knots. When she was finished, the first thing that Remi noticed was a patch of hair sticking out.

Was it Eckard?

No, the hair was a lot different…but there was definitely a body inside.

“What is that?” an elderly man asked from behind Remi and Olivia. He had come out of his house to inquire about the raid group’s success, or lack thereof. “Are we going to eat it?”

“No, it’s not for eating,” Remi’s mother replied, giving the sack a good kick. It didn’t move in response. “But he might lead us to food one day. Call it an investment.” She nodded toward the four men who had now caught their breath, and they began pulling at the tail end of the sack, revealing the prize within.

Remi stepped forward and examined him.

It was a boy. About her age from what she could tell. But he was a lot different than Eckard. Eckard had been clean and almost boyish in his features. This boy—though still looking innocent while sleeping—looked more like a man.

He had strange markings and tattoos on his exposed, muscular arms. His shirt was torn intentionally at the shoulders, but the tears in the middle were obviously not. He had taken strikes from the raid group’s blades, and somehow, he wasn’t bleeding. The wounds were non-existent and only small reveals of his massive bare chest and abdomen was revealed. He had facial hair—a mustache and goatee, but it was fuzz, as if he had just started growing it out. His hair was disheveled and dirty, but composed of fine, black tufts. His skin was sun-kissed and his lips were pursed, even in sleep.

Her eyes fell upon his right forearm and she raised an eyebrow. Something resembling a bone in color and composition was sticking out. Did he break his arm?

“What is he?” Remi asked and her mother laughed.

“I was wondering when you would stop drooling over him.”

Remi blushed. “I wasn’t drooling. I just never saw someone like him before.”

“Don’t talk back,” her mother said flatly as she put her hands on her hips. “Well, hopefully it won’t be the last time. We’re going to get him to tell us where we can find some food. Cimmerian is looking pretty dry these days, or at least with how far we’ve gone in. About time we start learning about some other options. I don’t want you hanging around him though. He’s dangerous.”

“Killed two of us,” one of the men from the raid group muttered. “Took us all to bring him down.”

“He attacked you?” the elderly man asked, but Remi’s mother shook her head.

“No, we attacked him. Only reason we were able to win, I think. He wasn’t expecting it. Anyways, you stay away from him too, old man. We’re going to keep him chained up but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for him to escape and that’s the last thing we want. Not only could we get some information out of him, but if it comes down to it…we could always eat him.”

“Ew,” Olivia muttered and the raid group began laughing.

“She says that now,” one of the men muttered. Remi’s mother gave Olivia a smirk.

“Once those hunger pains come in, you’ll consider gnawing on your arm before you’ll starve to death. Trust me. But I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that. Like I said before, no one touch him without orders from one of our leaders. And someone tell me when he wakes up. It’s not every day I get to meet a Quietus.”

“A Quietus?” Remi asked in awe as she examined the boy once more. But before she could even begin to survey him, the men began shoving his limp body back into the sack. Olivia sucked her teeth as the raid group walked past the two girls and the elderly man, heading toward their impromptu prison in the middle of town. Remi watched them until they were out of sight. She made a mental note of what house they headed into.

“Don’t do anything crazy,” Olivia laughed, seeing the look on Remi’s face.

Remi laughed right back. “Nothing you wouldn’t do.”

“He’s dangerous.”

“So are we,” Remi replied, sticking her tongue out at her. Olivia rolled her eyes.

“Fine. Fine. When we get the chance, we’ll see if we can talk to him.”

“See? Isn’t it better to just go along with what I want from the beginning?”

ONE YEAR LATER

For the first time in her life, her body had gotten stronger in the passing year. Her arms weren’t just limp noodles anymore. There were biceps and triceps and broader shoulders. Her legs didn’t wobble like they used to. Her mind was sharper and her optimism was greater. The road had been paved with many setbacks—bouts of recovery in which she would be bed-ridden for days after a grueling workout, or the occasional wound inflicted by Olivia. It was always an accident, but it still took twice as long to heal than anyone else.

Olivia was the greatest. She didn’t hold back no matter how much Remi pleaded. It was annoying in the moment, but it had reaped great rewards. She was actually forming thoughts about the future now.

Yes, the future.

And not just about surviving from one day to the next either. She envisioned beating the proverbial cancer that riddled her body. She envisioned defending herself against the great armies and dangers outside of her town. She might even be able to grow to independence someday. Or find love. It was a notion she had barely considered while growing up. Reality told her that she would die before she even hit puberty, and then when puberty passed, she knew she wouldn’t reach adulthood. And now that adulthood had arrived, she figured…why not? Why couldn’t she have a normal life?

She could find someone that she could laugh with and grow even further along with. Maybe have kids. Wouldn’t that be something?

Remi smiled to herself as she stood in front of the cracked mirror. She knew what her parents would say—that she should still be careful. That she could relapse at any moment, and though her body had gained a little muscle, it didn’t mean the inside of her was any better. Logically it had gotten worse. Her heart was working harder and her organs were dying every day, but wasn’t everybody’s?

Remi clenched her fists as she raised her head high.

She was beautiful.

She didn’t care who thought otherwise. She was formidable. She was impressive. She was a beast. She was powerful. She was underestimated and all those who thought her weak would learn in time.

They would learn.

Remi sighed and pressed the palm of her hand against her chest, then she reached up and ran her fingers through her hair. Her eyes scanned her from head to toe, taking in who she was and how she was seen. She might make some changes to her hair. Not because she cared what anyone thought or that she was covering something up.

Just to reflect the confidence within her.