Elements (Tear of God Book 1) (11 page)

Going downhill was insane. Mink tried his best to check his speed by walking. He lost sight of Nyam during the descent and had to scan the valley below to find her. Once he reached level ground, he resumed a quick jog. He shot across the plain adjacent to the valley so comfortably that he sped up to a run, headed straight toward his mom, who was now hurdling shrubs.

Thinking himself close enough, Mink jumped down at her. Both of them jolted with surprise at how quickly he had caught up. Still, he failed to tag her before she lept over the bank to the south toward some gray rocky outcroppings. Mink followed instinctively until she began taking long strides from the top of one distant rock to another. His lack of confidence in stopping superceded that of his ability to choose his footing carefully atop the rocks. He had no choice but to press on, the hard, sharp surfaces of the rocks promising danger.

Mink held his breath and concentrated as each foot passed over the jagged stone tops. It would be difficult enough to run around their bases on the ground without Quick Legs, let alone try to find his way over them at this speed. Falling in-between could only result in pain Mink would rather avoid. He understood perfectly well what his mom had said earlier about reflexively avoiding pain. She mocked him with dancing leaps from left to right, egging him on to quicken his pace. The process reminded him of a childhood game he used to play where certain steps were safe and others were traps.

Beyond the rocks stretched miles of grassy foothills spotted with random trees and flowering shrubs. Nyam zig-zagged ahead of Mink. He picked up his pace after passing the last of the rocks, trailing her movements. He managed to switch direction with considerable speed after a few wipeouts. Suddenly, he realized that it would be better to anticipate her location, rather than wasting energy trying to catch up. Her pattern proved to be rather basic, and Mink picked where he might intercept her.

Diverging from the chase, he sprinted ahead to his chosen spot. With a welcome sense of predicability, Nyam came straight to Mink and he touched her shoulder as they crossed paths. After tagging her, he turned his hips to the side and slid on his feet for several yards before coming to his first standing stop.

“Tag,” he said, grinning ear-to-ear.

His mom smiled too, and stepped up to him in a second.

“Well done. You aren’t ready to start using this effect until you can think and run at the same time. You just finished three months of Quick Legs training faster than I had hoped.”

Mink felt exhilirated by his first experience using an advanced effect, and could scarcely believe that he had already become accustomed to it in less than an hour. “Does this mean I’m some kind of genius?” He asked, face flushed with exertion and pride.

“It means you’re on the same level in that effect as most ten-year old Body users. Congratulations.” Nyam curbed Mink’s ego, but was obviously pleased with her son. “How’s your breathing?”

It didn’t even occur to him until she asked, but he wasn’t winded at all. He barely had any sweat on his forehead. “Wow. Great.”

“Find your tree.”

Mink took no time locating and pointing it out. Dusk still hadn’t quite given way to twilight. The amount of ground that Mink had covered in so little time really messed with his internal clock.

“Remember to only go as far as you can see when you reach the forest. Use your new vision to pick your direction, and stay two steps ahead. Once you see the Capitol from the range, pick another landmark in that direction to locate when the city isn’t in view. When you come to the roads, you’ll know the way, and the running will seem very easy then.”

“Thanks, mom.” Mink hugged her.

“Thank you, Mink. I hope you know how huge this thing is that you’re doing. I’ll head back to your dad now. Stay safe. God’s grace be your keep.” Nyam kissed Mink’s forehead and sprinted off to the west. He tried to keep an eye on her, but every time he found his focus, she moved out of range again. Twilight was upon them, and his mom hadn’t gone through this much effort just to have him stand around. He pivoted carefully on his heels and aimed himself at the chosen destination of the tree.

The darker night grew, the harder it was for Mink to select his footing. The gentle rises and falls of the foothills did make for easier passage than the terrain at higher elevations. He navigated the shadows of the landscape, wondering when one of Georra’s seven moons would clear the horizon to illuminate his way. He remembered seeing at least three of them last night when he got up to relieve himself. It could be hours until their light would aid his travel.

B
Y THE
time two moons had crested beyond Mink’s right to the north, he was breathing hard and caught his eyes closing too long when they blinked. He was unmistakably fighting off sleep at very high speed. He worked up the nerve to try some boost bar, wanting to see what effect would come from only one small bite.

It tasted like rot. He almost stopped running to retch, but it went down smooth enough and almost instantly shook him awake. One more slightly larger bite of the foul, crunchy bar and he was hyper enough to sprint with reckless abandon. He doubted he could free fall faster. He might actually be able to beat a Lightning user in a race. Maybe even that rotting Blin.

His yellow-festooned tree on the horizon beckoned, daring for him to increase his speed. He decided to see how fast he could go. The Regenerative Cells effect would kick in if he couldn’t handle it, even if he did accidentally bounce for a quarter mile or so. He broke through to a speed where it felt like he was standing still, watching the environment fly by. He checked his hubris with the reminder that hundreds of thousands of Elementalists were probably capable of traveling faster. Still, he knew he’d have no problem maintaining this speed for the rest of the night.

In the quiet, dark hours of the morning, Mink reached the forest. Or, rather, struck his first tree. It came out of nowhere. Mink hardly had time to take inventory of his injuries as he careened off the first tree and into a couple of others like a hotshot ball. He rose carefully, shook off the pain, and laughed at himself. Judging from the position of the moons and absence of dawn over the range, he had a few hours left of this night. Still amped from his sampling of the boost bar, Mink decided to press on more carefully through the forest.

Jumping up the final slope to the tree took less effort than running, and helped him control his path. At last, he reached his tree guide and patted it appreciatively, taking in its unique nature. The limbs, upon closer inspection, were deliberately bent to one side, probably by a Wood user’s Manipulation effect. Judging by its sun-faded and tattered look, the yellow sailcloth had been tied around it years ago. This tree had obviously been dedicated to use as a landmark for travelers in the wilderness. Having reached his first checkpoint ahead of schedule, the approaching morning opened up with possibility.

As Mink looked out toward Octernal from atop the Great Barrier Range, he saw the tree served for travelers on both sides. Pockets of cities spread out over his country before him. Beyond them, close to the horizon and still quite far from Mink, Protallus City lay shrouded in the early morning mist and deep purples of dawn. Even with a sense of how fast he could run, it was difficult to understand how he was going to reach the Capitol in time.

Mink allowed himself another bite of boost bar and hurried on, eager to leave the mountain and have the space to sprint again. Halfway down the mountainside, he thought one more bite would probably increase his focus on the trees. Several miles of forest still lay at the base of the mountain until he could reach the first clearing. It took the better part of the sunrise to make it through the forest.

He wasted no time getting into a sprint once he reached the low grasses that stretched beyond him toward the first towns. At this rate, he figured he’d be in the Capitol that night. The sleepy border towns were slow, pastoral places. Squat barn domes made of octagonal panels were hunched amid flower pastures. Quaint single-level mudhouses cooled under grass thatch roofs. A stark contrast to the looming stone ramparts of the border wall that once held back oceans.

By the time Mink reached Riverpark, there was a good chance Gyov would be awake. Even if just in passing, it would be so great to get her attention! To have her see him actually using an effect, that alone would make the trip worth taking. It looked like things were finally starting to go his way.

It wasn’t long before he reached the hard-packed Soil of the main road connecting his city with the outer towns. Cities of Wood, stone, and glass heralded Mink’s return to civilization. Traffic got heavier the farther in he went. Wood users on their Wooden sleds, Body users either pulling carts or running solo, and Lightning users with Flash Feet cracking by on bolts of Lightning went about their daily commute. One putrid-faced Body user passed, shooting Mink a look that made him wonder if it was obvious that he wasn’t really a Body user. Or maybe he was going too slow for the guy’s liking? Mink decided he just always gave people that look.

He took the exit toward home, trying to figure out what time it was and, therefore, the best place to find Gyov. His heart beat faster than his feet. He couldn’t wait to see the look on her face. Her face! He could be standing a normal distance from her and her face would seem like it was right up next to his. Nose-to-nose almost. He was worried he might be slowing down a bit, so he took another bite of the boost bar.

If the sun was any indication, it was probably around two of the second clock by now. Today was Grachnitok, the start of the weekend, so there wouldn’t be any school. Gyov could be one of two places: leaving home, or already at the lake park. It could get crowded at the lake park on a morning like this, and he would rather not attract much attention. Best to swing by her house first and try to catch her before she left.

He had to slow down a bit through the neighborhoods in order to keep track of where he was, which annoyed him. He felt like he was losing precious time. Yard after yard, house after house passed by without him really recognizing any of it. Frustrated, he shot off to a main road so he could take his usual path to school. Then, from school to Dreh’s house, which is how he had found out where Gyov lived in the first place.

He recognized the school grounds with a feeling of eureka mixed with dread. The eight-foot tall solid Wood fence blocked off, or in, as Mink perceived it, the sixty-four acre school property. Dead center of the trimmed-grass plaza sat the single-level octagonal stone building where Mink had spent most of his waking hours. He hated that he would still have to take one more class with five-year olds at the innermost elementary area, enduring yet another year of mockery for it. All grade levels studied in the same building, the grades separated into concentric circles. The nearer the students’ classes were to the outer walls, the closer they came to freedom.

The entrance Mink had run through faced the Spirit wall of the school, just beyond the white flower garden the students used for meditations. The exit he needed would be around the right side of the school across from the Fire wall. All of the trees grew to the left beyond the Wood wall, which made his trip through the Air and Lightning sections of the yard a breeze.

As he approached the flickering Eternal Flames and Body users’ training equipment beyond, a loud crack and bright light slammed him down with tremendous force. The pain only lasted a second, and he wasn’t damaged at all in spite of bouncing and sliding for a quarter mile. Mink lay on the ground in a daze, wondering if he had passed too close to a generator the Lightning students used for practice. He had been running for so many hours now, it felt weird to be on his back and motionless.