Incandescence - 29. Disobedience

My parents had far too much trust in me to stay put. It was a matter of drugging my favorite uncle (much easier now that he was human) with things that my dad had taught me. I wasn’t sure if he thought I’d forget, but I’d always been a good student. Everyone told me so. Unfortunately for my dad, I’d also been slowly learning more languages, so the books that used to be a mystery, weren’t a secret anymore. As much as Wren hated eating real food, it was easy to add some ingredients without him noticing. I guess you didn’t worry about food poisoning when you didn’t eat food for hundreds of years. As I worked through my plan, I tried to remember every base I needed to cover. When uncle Eon had nagged me about being thorough and prepared, I doubt he thought it would lead to this.

Tying Wren up was my least favorite part. Eira was with Tyren so I wouldn’t have to figure out what to do with the little thing. I had made a decent plan. I thought so anyway. There were several mental points I was ticking off. I’d put together a makeshift bag with a small knife my dad had given me along with the sword that I was supposed to hide from Da. It had a scary edge that looked like it was covered in sharp teeth. Serrated, dad had called it. Then he’d shown me the scar on his shoulder where it ripped him open. It disturbed me a little when I thought about how the very blade in my bag had been responsible for wounding one of my parents.

Creeping out of my room, I prayed that I’d given Wren enough to keep him asleep for a while. I had been too careful. I wasn’t a real alchemist yet or a chemist like Nyx. I didn’t want to kill Wren, so I erred on the side of caution. Luckily, the halls were pretty empty. Except my trusty guards. These ones were different. Probably because I’d fooled the last ones. Dad hated that. People got fired.

One of the guards had his back to me and was almost as wide as Eon. The other was just as tall, but willowy like he’d never lifted anything in his life heavier than his armor. Biting my lip, I glanced between the two. I had one good shot here. My choice was made for me when the skinny one turned around. It startled me and I threw my hand out. A giant leaf shot out and wrapped quickly around the man’s face when my fingers twitched.

“Oh gods! The little tyrant is at it again! Help!” The bigger guard came at me and I squeaked, dodging big clumsy hands, “Your dads are going to be mad, but I’m not a babysitter!”

He backhanded me and I was dazed for a moment before white hot rage exploded inside me. The stone walls behind him reached out at the same time as vines wrapped him in a cocoon and then squeezed until he shouted. Glaring at him and wiping blood from my mouth, I scowled, “That was totally your fault! I wasn’t going to fight! I just needed to get past you! Jerk!”

Walking away, I wiggled my fingers so the leaf attacking skinny guy moved enough to let him breathe through his nose. He gasped roughly, but at least he stopped thrashing around on the ground. I didn’t feel like getting kicked and it wouldn’t be right to get mad at him if he did. He wasn’t even able to see what he’d be kicking. I picked up my pace. There would be more guards close and there was no way they hadn’t heard the scuffle.

Darting through the familiar hallways, I was startled a few times when men came barreling around turns. Most were secured with vines. Only a few had the walls suck them in after they’d actually hurt me. I was a kid for gods sake! You shouldn’t hit kids. It was wrong! There was a stitch in my side from running so long when I finally arrived in the right wing. I shoved the double doors open quickly and let out a breath when I saw that only the smart bookworm guy was in the war room with the man I was really here to see. The other guy was plainly dressed in browns and tans. His sandy blonde hair was shaggy and hit his shoulders.

“Wyn?” Bookworm stood slowly, “Are you okay? Should I get Tyren? Where’s Wren?”

“Sorry.” I muttered and he frowned at me until the wooden desk he’d rested his hands on, grew around them. He exclaimed and my attention turned to the guy who’d been leaning against the wall.

He held up his hands, “Whoa kid. What are you doing?”

“You’re the one they use to take messages to other places, right?”

“What?”

“The teleporter!” I narrowed my eyes and he looked at me nervously.

“Look your parents would kill me if I took you out of here. That’s not even mentioning the rest of your family!”

“The member of my family you have to worry about right now, is me!” I tried for my best impression of the gruff voice my dad used when he was intimidating someone or angry at them.

“Kid loo-“

“We’re going. I wasn’t asking. Please don’t make this hard. I don’t wanna hurt anyone else.”

Scared. I had never been so scared in my entire life. The palace, teleporter, message guy had dropped me into the middle of the fight and then blinked right back out of existence. There were people everywhere around me, fighting, screaming. I didn’t feel good and I pulled my tunic up to cover my nose as every one of my senses was assaulted. I tried to stay as low as possible. I was smaller and maybe no one would notice me. Luckily, the absolute violent chaos around me provided a good distraction.

I shouldn’t have come. I crawled behind some rocks and hunkered down as my eyes filled with tears. How was I going to find either of my dads? Or even uncle Eon? Sniffling, I wiped my eyes and flinched as metal clattered nearby. My hands flew to the devices in my ears. It was too much. It felt like my head would explode. So much noise. Everywhere. All at once and never-ending. My nose was running and I’d given in to crying so my face was a mess. I refused to take my hands away from my ears. Crying out as the roar around me grew and grew, I pulled my devices out of my ears.

The silence was like a balm. Sobbing, I wiped my face. Hanja had managed to get some of my hearing back, but everything was blissfully muffled without my aides. I sniffled again, rubbing my nose with my sleeve as I tried to clean myself up. I wanted my dad. Either of them. I wanted Wren and Eon. I’d even take Master Hanja. What did I do now? Did my family even know I was gone? If they found out, how would they even tell my parents? Rocking myself slowly, I held one device closer to my ear, scowling when it didn’t work. It wouldn’t, it needed bone or something. I should’ve been paying more attention when they were explained. Closing my eyes, I felt wind graze my cheeks gently. It brought with it sound, so I winced at first and then breathed deep. Leaning into it, I let it filter itself.

I dug the devices back into place when I heard my da screaming. I took off and used my size to squirm between adults. I only had to whip a few in the face with some rocks when they noticed me. Light shot into the sky above my head. I was close. That had to be my da! I shoved a man out of the way and he careened into blades. After he’d been cut down, the sky fell.

“No. I’m hallucinating.” My dad said as he panted and jerked his hand to the left when someone ran at him. Blades hacked the man in half. I stopped moving, frozen as I stared at the parts of the man on the ground. A dark figure stalked toward me and I heard a shout before black shot out around us and where it reached, men fell. I fell forward, emptying my stomach on the ground as I whimpered.

“Why are you here? Fuck...no. Wyn what the fuck are you doing here? Oh my gods.”

“Dad…I’m scared.” I hiccupped and gagged again, covering my mouth.

Arms gathered me to his familiar form and then my feet left the ground as he lifted me closer, “I can’t jump us. Look at me.”

My eyes met his and I tried to ignore the fear there. His hand gripped my chin and I felt something smear across my skin. His hand was covered in blood, dirt, and who knew what else. Breathing was starting to get hard. My lungs didn’t want to take full breaths. What was wrong with me?

“Are you running away?” The owner of the voice was a plain-looking man wearing light browns and cream. He was smirking at my dad’s back and I jerked my wrist nervously as he approached us. He tripped over a root and cursed. Then his eyes locked on me and I swallowed.

“Wyn, stay here.” He pressed me down against a rock that’d protect my back. Then he turned to the man.

“It’s honestly amazing that you have any Magik left at all. I’ve never had someone last this long!” The man smiled and ran his thumb over the edge of an ax.

“Sounds like a personal problem. Should work on that.” My dad huffed and heaved himself to his feet. Fear settled in my chest, constricting my heart as I noticed him wince and grit his teeth. He gripped his side and I stared as his fingers were covered with more blood.

“If I touch you again, you probably won’t have any power left.”

“You talk so much. I bet people just love you.”

Wrapping my arms around myself, I watched them square off. The man had some small cuts, but he otherwise looked okay. In comparison, my dad looked like crap. I’m sure it was even worse but his all-black clothing hid the extent of his injuries. Covering my ears again, I watched them meet in the middle. My dad’s movements were jerky and slow. He was holding his own, but he looked exhausted. I frowned as the man reached his hand out and Talon flinched away like he’d been burned. The man smiled and retreated a few steps. He glanced down at his feet and dad jumped on the opportunity. His opponent countered another attack and spun, his fingers barely brushing across dad’s shoulders.

“There now. Was that enough?” The man grinned, “Shouldn’t be long now. It always fills me with joy when strong magik users are reduced to useless without their power.” He smirked again as he managed to kick away the sword in my dad’s hand. Fear swelled and I tried to figure out how this nobody had disarmed my dad. That never happened.

He stepped forward and I started trying to get up, but I couldn’t seem to get my legs under me. Without looking, my dad barked, “Wyn. Stay. There.”

Frowning, I gripped the rock and tried to find an opening so that I could help. The man was swinging his ax now and I bit back a scream. I should’ve known better. Talon moved and I saw the exact moment when the man realized he’d make a mistake. He’d gotten too close, too confident. I saw a knife slip from my dad’s sleeve, into his hand as he went on the offensive. The other man’s balance was easily thrown off and then Talon slid under his defenses.

“So much talking.” I heard him say before he stepped back, slashing his arm out as he did so. Covering my mouth, I gagged a little when a red line appeared across the man’s throat. He dropped the ax and his hands flew up. Blood spurted from between his fingers and the man fell to his knees. My view was blocked as dad staggered over to me and gripped my cheeks.

“Wyn. Me. Focus on me. We’re going to move. You’re going to keep up. You’re going to watch all around you. If someone gets too close, use your Magik. As much as you have to for them to stop. Do you understand me?”

“But dad, if I do too much it could ki-“

“Yes, Wyn. Use whatever you have to stay safe. Now, we’re going to run. Your da needs us, right?”

I remembered his screaming and my uneasy stomach settled, “He’s hurt dad.”

“We-you and me-we’re going to find him. Aren’t we?” He set me down and gripped my hand too tight, “You stay with me.”

Fear ripped through me again as I imagined running through the active battlefield., “I’m scared dad.”

“I know. Hey, I know. I’m scared too. I need you to be brave for me, okay? I can hold it together but I need your help. You’ve always been stronger than me. The family’s rock. I know you can do that, right darling?” He cupped my face and kissed my forehead and I wished I had time to save the moment. He’d never done that before or said any of those things.

“I can do it.” His lips split in a tired grin and he nodded approvingly.

Then I was struggling to keep up with his long legs as he barreled towards where I had seen the light. We weren’t far, but I noticed he wasn’t using Magik. It took longer than it should have. Was he too tired? Was there some truth to that man’s talking? I glanced around us and the earth rose slowly, men tumbling away from us as the ground formed a channel around us.

“Good Wyn!” Blood splattered across my face as he did his best to dispatch then men in front of us as fast as physically possible. I had never seen my dad fight like this. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t have any idea what the reality was going to be like. It was exhaustion, panting so hard his shoulders moved with it. He staggered a little and I darted forward to support him, only to jerk away just as fast. His entire left side was covered in blood and there was a nasty looking slash across his ribs. It was deep and his leathers were smeared with blood.

“Dad?”

“C’mon, keep doing what you’re doing. Stay with me little one.”

We were running again, but this time I noticed how uneven his gait was. His face was pale and set in a permanent grimace when he wasn’t looking at me. Finally, we reached them. My da was on the ground with a grandma-looking lady walking toward him. About ten feet away, a scrawny guy was holding his hands up. Another was even closer. His hands shook as he kept the ground solid around Kalian’s feet. The other’s hands closed into fists, my dad let out a scream that shook all of my insides and rattled my heart.

I pushed past my dad, “Get away from him!”

“Wyn!” Talon screamed, but I didn’t stop. My hands clenched into fists and I twisted them, the woman’s feet were covered in earth. Then the earth under her rotated them. The rest of her legs didn’t go with and she screamed as she hit the ground after a gross snapping sound. I glared at her as she attempted to push herself up. My gaze dropped and the dirt surged up, twisting around her hands and pulling her arms down, underground. Her face hit the dirt and my hands moved without my permission. The ground kept shifting and then it began to slowly pull her into it. It only took about a minute before the earth had swallowed her whole. I whipped around, da’s arms were free and as I watched, Talon spun and cut the other attacker’s throat.

“Da!” Stumbling forward, I frowned at the weird position his legs were in. I maneuvered them out from under him and rested a hand on his chest. His arms were spread out and looking at his hands almost made me sick again. His eyes were closed and they weren’t open even when I shook him, “Da! Please! We saved you! Dad and I!”

He didn’t move, but his chest was rising and falling. He was breathing at least and other than his hands and a nasty looking shoulder, he seemed okay besides small cuts and bruises, “Wyn! Meep!”

I hadn’t heard my father, but from the sound of his voice, he’d been trying to get my attention, “What? Da’s not waking up? What do we do?”

“Your vines, the ground, stone, whatever, you make some kind of shelter around you. Do it now!” He ordered, holding his side as he looked at me.

“But what about you?”

“Now Wyn!” He shouted as he blocked an axe and shoved his sword through his opponent. All his movements were sluggish and getting slower by the minute. Glaring, I gripped the dirt and walls began to form around us. Talon was still fighting and let out a strange noise when, vines gripped his ankles and dragged him into the shelter with us. Very slowly, the light-save for some gaps so we could breathe- was shut out. The sound was muffled the way it had been when I’d taken my devices out.

I expected my dad to yell at me, but he stayed down. He only rolled onto his back and glanced at da, “Why are you here?”

“I said I wanted to help.” I answered quietly.

“Regret your choice yet?” He gasped, holding his stomach. Where, to my horror, blood was pooling.

“Dad…” I crawled over and pulled gently at his leathers. They were in tatters and it looked like he’d been through a cheese grater, “Why weren’t you fighting with Magik? Are you out?”

“Your da said he could stop people from using their Magik. The one I was fighting. It took him some time, but he managed.”

Terror surged again as it dawned on me how difficult it must’ve been to keep up when people you were fighting had an advantage like Magik that you didn’t. The injuries made sense. He was in bad shape and without Da…he was so hurt. There were tears running down my cheeks again and I tried to shake my head to dispel them. I was supposed to be strong. He needed me to. He said so.

“Meep, I’ve lost a lot of blood.” He winced and I covered my mouth as I began to cry harder. He shifted and gave me a weak smile, “Hey now, you’re supposed to keep it together for me, remember? I need you to do something for me, okay?”

I nodded and he let his head fall back against the dirt, “When it settles down, you get the two of you to safety.”

“You too.” I said, wiping at my face.

“I’ll be right behind you.” He lifted his head to grin at me and I watched as he wiped away blood that’d trickled from the corner of his mouth.

“Da wake up! We need you!” I shook him gently and he made a small noise, but still didn’t open his eyes.

“I’ll go find a healer!” I had made the shelter big enough to stand in and I rose, holding my hands out, “I’ll go quick and make sure I seal it back up behind me!”

“Meep, do not go back out there.” It hurt inside that he seemed to struggle to rasp out the words. There was nothing behind them. None of his normal tone that made you want to listen. No humor.

“I’m going. You can’t make me stay.” I waited for the argument. I waited for him to growl at me or something, but he remained quiet. I didn’t want to go out. Especially without him this time. I swallowed hard and tried to make myself do what I had to, “Dad, you have to protect the two of you until I get back. Promise?”

Labored, wet-sounding breathing was my only answer, “Dad you have to promise!”

Shouting made his brow furrow, but that was it. It felt like a hundred pounds was sitting on my chest, crushing my lungs and heart. I was tired. We’d run for so long. Scrubbing my face, I mentally kicked my own butt a few times. It didn’t matter if I was tired! My dads needed me! I wanted to help and now was my chance.

Wiggling out of the small opening I’d made at the top, I pulled myself free. There as a strange burst of light, but I couldn’t focus on that. I was about to slide down the roots and earth, when a hand grabbed mine. I must’ve jumped nearly a foot in the air as I turned. My shoulders dropped and new tears formed as I came face-to-face with my da. He looked wrong though. His eyes were glowing and as I watched, he linked our fingers and I felt something inside me pull.

Close your eyes little love.

I tried to fight it, but slowly I became more and more sleepy. My eyelids were so heavy and I sagged under the effort of trying to stay awake. My eyes slipped closed and I felt myself being lowered back into my makeshift shelter. I was placed in friendly hands and curled up against a familiar chest. Relief washed over me, but I fought to get my eyes open. The last thing I saw before falling asleep was light slowly building around da’s body and then it exploded out. It was too bright and it forced my eyes closed again. A hand laid over my eyes and the scent of blood sent me off into slumber.

*Kalian*

The horror of waking up to a nearly dead husband in a strange earthen structure shook me. Then I saw the form wiggling out the top of whatever we were in. Magik hummed through me and seemed to be building inside me. My hands were ruined, I didn’t know what it expected me to do.

You are not limited by the things others are now.

I winced as the voice filled my head. It’d been so long since I’d heard it. Had the last time been when Anders was still alive? Scowling, I tried not to snap at the voice. Why did I only get little grains of information every once in a while?

You are given what you need at the right time. Your powers have steadily grown. This would’ve been impossible before.

I tilted my head to the side as the Magik continued to build and the damaged skin on my hands began to heal. Fast. At the same time, I glanced to Talon and light crept from my body. Then it seemed to flare and sunk into Talon. He jerked, but I heard his breathing start up again. The power shifted from me to Talon fully and I could sense his skin knitting back together, external and internal wounds healing. Chancing a look at my hands, I marveled at them. They looked like nothing had ever happened. (Despite being dirty and bloody from battle.) A loud, rough exhale left Talon and then his breathing evened out. Crawling forward, I ran my fingers through his hair. He was okay now, just worn out. He could stay in this unique shelter, while I took care of things. I moved quick and just barely managed to catch Wyn.

Give him here.

Surprised, I looked down at a clearly struggling Talon. I lowered the boy into his arms and Talon settled them back on the ground, curling around the boy as he held him close to his chest. Looking at them for a moment, I chuckled. How had we convinced ourselves that Wyn would stay put. The boy was tenacious and stubborn. We should’ve known better. I could only thank the gods that he hadn’t been injured and he’d found Talon. As much as Talon had the shit kicked out of him, he kept us all safe until he couldn’t anymore.

Sighing, I felt a bit bad that I’d pulled Magik from Wyn. I stood on the top of the structure our boy had made and looked around. Trusting my power, I released it. As it had before, it rushed from me in every direction. It rolled over every human it met and seemed to deduce friend from foe all on its own. Part of my brain lit up when it recognized Eon. I could feel my brother, but the Magik moved on. Forcing its way over the earth until I was wrung out. I didn’t know if it’d covered the entire battlefield, but it should be enough that if any enemies were left, the fighters could dispatch them. Eon could take it from here. The man had contingency plan on top of contingency plan and he knew us. He had to know something would’ve gone wrong. I was sure he’d been ready for it. With that thought held close to my chest, I eased myself down beside my boys and passed out instantly.