Harmonizer's Evolution (Balancer's Soul cycle) (41 page)

Once everything was instantly mapped out
mentally,
the power released. Connor
instinct
ively
used Pressure to trap everything surrounding
him
in a
fifteen
foot radius
,
in every conceivable direction.

He
knew it worked because there were no longer any sounds. Th
ere was no wind blowing around his
body nor were there any sounds from Mark’s
beating wings. It seemed like the
bubble of P
ressure was so powerful that not even sound could pass through it. The
silence
became
almost unbearable. Connor
didn’t like the feeling that one of
his
senses were completely severed.
I’d better do this quick.

He
then focused more energy
beneath the solidified Pressure bubble
and immed
iately flew straight up. He
looked straight ahead, but
felt Mark’s eyes on him for a few seconds. And when he
no longer felt them
,
Connor’s
eyes
gradually
looked down.
The
flight was faster than first realized because Mark wasn’t in
his
field of vision because he
became
too small to see. If
he
couldn’t see him,
Mark most certainly cannot see
.

Connor
flew
up so high that the curvature of the earth was easily distinguishable. There were still no sounds, but the air in
side the
sphere had cooled dramatically. This altitude was very inhospitable and if it weren’t for
his
powers
he
would
most likely
freeze to death before dying without
another breath of
oxygen.
Frost began clinging to the shield and that gave a sense of urgency.
He
needed to be quick
before hypothermia kicked in. I
t would be foolish to heat
him
self with
a
dark blue flame because it would consume the remaining air
,
in
half
a minute.

Knowing that time and everything was against
him
up here,
he
brought energy into
his
eyes to activate an ability to see aura.
Using this ability allows
him
to see another
’s energy while also allowing him
to see normal ev
eryday things. It is not like
Sonar that shifts
his
visual perception to black and white.

Below his
feet the darkness
of the earth
began
brightening into a wide array of colors.
From the vertical flight Connor
saw
his
dark blue aura being whisked away by the
upper air currents
and dissipating into nothingness.
Connor
concluded that following someone’s flight by looking at their aura would be useless.
The wild aspects of air currents were too unpredictable to follow by flight.
The main color of t
he land
turned
a pulsating green. He knew that most plant
life had a green aura. There were many other smaller colors that were mostly located along the coasts of the ocean. Then there was the ocean. The water itself didn’t have a color, but the life forms
,
that called it home
,
were very colorful and
appealing
.
He could watch this for hours if it weren’t so blasted freezing. Then he
began recognizing subtle colors that shouldn’t be where they were.

Around where there were
coastal
cities and almost along the entire west side of South America
,
w
as a lot of residual red aura. Connor
remembered that at the Mélange when
he
modified a Keepers bat,
his
aura transferred to it, almost like a signature. From
the amount of dissipating red, he
concluded that
from
the scale of the destruction
,
that Ranvan’s aura was red.
C
rimson
seemed fitting
, almost like
evil
.
For the amount of suffering you’ve caused, you’re blood will be spilled just like your aura. I’ll see to it myself if we ever cross paths.

As
Connor
looked a
long
the coast there were faint traces of a white aura. It seemed like Sorono helped save as m
any
lives
as he could without being
noticed. The more
he
looked the more
his
senses told
him
that the energy
was too old to be of any use. He
needed to find fresher traces of
his
brother’s
white energy.

Connor
spent the next fifteen minutes searching from
the
extreme
height advantage. Then he
finally
caught
a break. Unfortunately
his
instincts told
him
it wasn’t
going to be
a positive one.

Seeing what needed to be seen and fixating the point in
his
mind,
the high altitu
de was enough. He
turned over and dropped straight down while searching for Mark’s aura. The further
he
dropped
the warmer thing became. Once he
felt
sure that the air was safe,
the
Pre
ssure bubble
and residual frost
disappeared with his
energy.

The silence ended abruptly as the w
ind passed by his
ears onc
e again. The air again blew against his
face and
his
hair flew in every direction. Hearing
i
s a
miracle
. And the warmer air entered
his
lungs while also invigorating
his spirit
. It was a blessing to no longer be sensory deprived.

He
continued searching while keeping energy in
his
eyes. Then a familiar aura
became
distinguishable
between himself
and the green aura of the forest.
It was as if there was a moving blind spot.
M
oving
mass of
dark
energy moved too strangely to be an animal. And the flight was slow and controlled.

His
legs moved as
his
cou
rse needed to be altered. Soon Connor
headed straight down at him.

When the range
seemed
sufficient he
yelled “MARK, OVER HERE!” The
energy flowing into his hazel
eyes quelled and only normal objects could be seen.

Mark’s blac
k form turned to the sound of the voice. Despite the darkness Connor
could see everything
clearly. Mark sighed in relief and then altered his course to turn around be
cause he was flying away from his friend
.

Soon
they
met and he was the first to ask “Find anything?”

“You know I wouldn’t be back unless I did.”

He grinned while showing
off
his sharp canines. “Good, but first
tell me what it was like up the
r
e
.” Mark
listened intently to everything that
he
saw in the higher atmosphere.
He slowly smiled.
“Alright, now where is this strange place you’ve saw that doesn’t look good. Better yet, show me.”

“Alright, follow me.” And he did as
Connor
began flying forward.

The place that his
instinct told
him
to look
laid
about sixty to seventy miles inland of Chile. This place was densely surrounded by trees and there weren’t any n
earby human settlements. What his
eyes saw were
mainly
blood red and white energies
,
along with several other smaller energies
of muddy colors in comparison
. The energies were located in a very small area that showed only one visible location. It was a clearing made in a
n unnaturally
perfect circle.

Mark and
Connor
flew above the trees while being in the cover of the night.
His
instincts were telling
him
that things were very safe at the moment.
It was still a danger if they
didn’t tread lightly.

As they
approached the clearing
,
Mark said “Connor, I think we should drop into the trees rather than landing directly in that clearing. Maybe that was how Sorono was tricked.
That place could still have traps for any who come snooping where they
ought no
t.
”

“You’ve got a point.” Connor
searched
around and pointed to a
nearby
open
rock formation. “Over there. There aren’t any trees for us to touch down safely.”

Mark
followed
his
lead a
nd landed safely on the ground.

They
were less than a quarter mile from the clearing.

Once they
began
to
silent
ly
approach
, Mark began testing the air with his nose. As
they
both used stealth he whispered “Connor, I
’ve got Sorono’s scent as well as Veronica’s. She
must have found this place too because it’s slightly fresher.” Then his
best friend’s silver eyes narrowed straight ahead
as he walked on all fours by Connor’s
side. “I also caught the scent of several other Keepers. The scents are faint because of a
recent
rain, but their scents are still lingering. This is definitely the place, Buddy.”

After
getting
conformation
they
went silent as
they
passed through the buzzing forest. Mark was right. There has been at least three rain showers in the past three weeks. The ground
felt
soft, but not completely saturated.
There weren’t any squishing
,
wet sounds to give away
their
immediate location.
Even at night
,
this place is full of life.

Soon Mark and Connor
made
their
way to the exterior of the c
ircular opening in the forest. Connor
judged the clearing to be over one hundred and fifty feet across. The ground was covered in grass that hasn’t been stepped on in over a week.
It seemed like the local animals were
fervently
afraid to come here because there w
ere
n’t any sounds
, even
from insects before
them
, but there w
ere
plenty
of noise
to
the
sides and back
though
.

Connor
placed a hand over Mark’s wing and spoke softly. “Wait here and let me check it out. If a trap is sprung, get me out.”
Their eyes met
and
he
nodded.

Once
the young Harmonizer
cleared the forest and stepped forward
,
his
squished
upon
wet
and saturated ground
.
He
hoped that
his
position wasn’t given away.
Mark’s muscles bunched in prepa
ration should anything happen. Connor
took only slow and cautious steps.
He
continued walking on the soaked ground for fifteen minutes, but there wasn’t anything
to really be seen
or felt
as a threat
.