Chapter 18: Eramar Runs an Errand for Zand

My family was saved from eradication. The Conjurer was true to his word. He accepted my offer and we became indoctrinated into the Tarrus Empire as a consultant organization for the Elemental Ministries. The Conjurer watched me closely, of course, but even he knew that I would not risk my family’s survival over personal ambition. He seemed somewhat sympathetic to my plight, as if he understood the true value of family. A strange man, with a strange bearing about himself. I heard that he was part Saurian, but he seemed too elegant and refined to be associated with those barbarians. In many ways, he reminded me of the Desolate One. There was something very similar in their mannerisms, the way they held themselves with such quiet dignity. Though the Conjurer was far more leaning towards the human persuasion in terms of appearance, there were even moments when I got the same feeling that I had with the Desolate One. The feeling that I was standing in the presence of an advanced predator that could snuff out my life as easily as spare it. And the fact that the Conjurer’s eyes were almost as red and as bright as the Desolate One’s himself was not lost upon me.

“Did you hear something?” asked Ryan while Torsha tended to his wounds.

“Nope,” replied Torsha distractedly as she tried to focus on changing the bandages on Ryan’s shoulder.

“Huh? I could have sworn I heard someone call out my name. Like that freaky feeling you get when you actually convince yourself that you can see dead people. Ouch!”

“Stop talking. You’re distracting me,” said Torsha in a quietly subdued voice.

“You’re worse than Éclair,” grumbled Ryan.

Torsha did not respond, which made Ryan think there was more going on with her than just battle fatigue. “Hey. You okay? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m supposed to be the one with the gushing, bloody wound.”

Torsha stayed quiet before saying, “You’re lucky he got more of your shoulder than your neck. Werewolves typically target right above the clavicle and remove the throat completely with a single bite. It’s the most efficient way to kill on a hunt.”

That is somewhat alarming to hear, thought Ryan, feeling a bit more anxious now considering how close he came to a grisly death.

“I felt a little numb afterwards, like I couldn’t move, and I can normally still move when I take a licking like that. Is that normal?”

“You were probably temporarily paralyzed. Many Werewolves can secrete poison from their fangs to subdue their prey. It makes it easier to eat them afterwards if they don’t make a killing blow with the first strike.”

“And I suppose you would have more experience with the ... uh ... the hunting thing than I would,” said Ryan awkwardly, still feeling the lingering pain of the Werewolf’s bite.

“Not really. I’ve had almost no experience dealing with my own kind. If I were born in a typical pack, I would have been taken out for my first hunt at the age of eight.”

That brought back some memories for Ryan. “Yeah. My dad said that he was going to teach me how to fight when I turned ten. But that was before ... you know ... a flock of angry Black Dragons attacked and burned my village to the ground.”

“I’m sorry,” said Torsha in a sad voice.

“No, it’s okay. I can’t keep moping about it forever. After all, I’m not the only one with problems, right?”

Suddenly, Torsha stopped working. When Ryan looked up at her, he could detect the slightest trace of a smile on her lips. It was definitely not a happy smile, but it was not altogether sad either. “It must have been nice, having a father doting on you like that. He sounds like he was a good man.”

Ryan was silent for a moment before returning the smile and saying, “Yeah. He was.”

Torsha’s slight mirth vanished as her eyes lowered. “You must think we’re all monsters. I couldn’t blame you if you did. Even I might be as crazy as that beast deep down inside.”

Hoping to diffuse the tension with humor, Ryan laughed and said, “Well, if I’ve learned anything, it’s that wolves are tough as nails. You guys could probably give Grafy a run for his money. By the way, you’re sure that I’m not going to sprout fur and bay at a full moon tonight, right? Not that that wouldn’t be awesome. I’d be a sort of scaly Werewolf hybrid. But I’m just thinking of the logistics right now. I’m not really sure how good I’d look with a beard since they seem to be going out of style and stuff. Come to think of it, we’re literally sitting on a full moon right now, aren’t we? Does that mean that my Werewolf powers would be doubled or something? As long as I don’t end up eating somebody I know, I think I’d be cool with that.”

Torsha remained silent, her eyes downcast. Finally, she said, “I’m sorry. I was supposed to protect you, but I couldn’t even do that. Not even that. I guess there was a reason that my parents abandoned me after all. Werewolves have been known to discard the weakest pups in the litter.”

Grasping for something, anything to get Torsha cheered up, Ryan said the first thing to come to mind. “On a lighter note, Tork the Dragon really wants to date you!”

That got Torsha’s attention as she stared down at Ryan in confusion, and gasped, “What?”

“Yeah, I know, right?! Who knew Tork could be so suave?! That dog! Oh! Bad choice of words. Any who, he wanted me to tell you because he’s a big nervous goober. It’s adorable really! Not that I can talk since I haven’t been on a date since ... my life began. But I’d still like to think that I got some moves up my-”

“What are you doing?” asked Torsha in a slightly annoyed tone.

“I’m ... trying to cheer you up so you won’t be so depressed. Aack!”

Torsha suddenly gave a really hard tug on Ryan’s bandage, tightening his shoulder wound profusely. “You should stop squirming around so much. You’re going to reopen that wound.” Despite her business-like tone, Ryan saw the shadow of a smile on Torsha’s lips.

“I’m pretty sure it’s too late for that!”

Torsha raised her wrist communicator to her face, and her ears perked up. “Caretaker be praised! The system’s back online. We can get you out of here before something else happens.”

Before Torsha could activate the communicator, Ryan put a hand on her wrist gently.

“Please wait before you do that.”

Torsha remained silent, but her face showed confusion and concern.

Ryan looked up and pointed out in the distance. “We’re close to the rendezvous point. We should debrief our team with the intel we’ve been able to gather. With any luck, they’ll keep me even with my disabilities. Can’t have your first pupil fail his test just because of a little bite.”

Torsha’s ears twitched. “Ryan. You were severely injured. You just barely survived an assassination attempt. I was assigned to protect you in case of such eventualities, but I failed ... miserably. I was useless to defend you against that ... that maniac. Besides, the Fire Elementals and the Monastery must be informed of this situation to find the intruder and make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Ryan licked his lips, thinking carefully of how to clarify his thoughts. “I ... I don’t want to use this as an excuse. I don’t want to quit. I want to catch up to Leon. I want to catch up to Éclair. I only get to stay on Squad 99 so long as I don’t fall too far behind the others. I can’t...”

I can’t stop progressing, not until I become strong enough to hunt down the freak who murdered my family, he wanted to say, but didn’t think Torsha would understand or approve given her religious upbringing.

He decided to take another avenue, one that would probably have a better means of success with Torsha. “Go ahead and tell them there’s a situation so they can arrest that guy. But leave out the part about me being injured. They can just add extra security around the training arena in case he comes back, but I don’t think he will. A guy like that is too smart to try the same thing twice, especially now that he knows we’ll be on the alert for him here. If you recommend it, I know they’ll let me finish the exam.”

Torsha sniffed. “And why would they do that?”

“Because there’s no way your superiors could respect you any less than I do.”

Torsha stared long and hard at Ryan. Just when he thought she would say no, she grumbled, “You’re lucky you’re so cute.”

Éclair and Leon had decided to return to their team’s command headquarters in order to ascertain Ryan’s position, but they were not having much success with the Second Level Mentor in command of their unit - a stubborn man that they were well acquainted with.

“So you’re telling me that you think you saw your friend being eaten by something in some kind of vision thingy. You think that he might be wounded. You think that he might even be captured. And somehow, despite all the security and surveillance we have set up for this installation, you’re the only ones who noticed this?” asked Second Level Elemental Captain Skippy.

Éclair was beside herself with exasperation. “Yes, for God’s sakes! Why is that so hard to believe?”

“Well, don’t get me wrong, miss. I’ve heard of a few Elementals being gifted with premonitions. But it’s usually reserved for the higher ranks. Level Four or above if I’m not mistaken, and even then, visions are sketchy at best. It’s kind of a rule not to put much stock in ‘em, especially when they have to do with your bloody boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend, you twit! He’s my partner!” replied a flustered Éclair, and immediately wishing she had phrased that differently.

“What’s the difference, then? Wait, you mean you two have already tied the knot? That’s a little early for you younguns, wouldn’t you say?”

“No! That’s not what I mean, you infuriating little man!” cried out Éclair, her cheeks going red with embarrassment. “I only meant that we’re on the same team! We’re not romantically involved!”

“Well, forgive me if I’m a little skeptical. But last time, you and your friends did not treat too kindly with poor old Skippy. Used my head for a game of rugby ... twice if I’m not mistaken,” he said, raising two fingers to emphasize his point.

“That’s it!”

Éclair was so pent up with rage after thinking of what might be happening to Ryan that she lost her temper. Removing her white gloves and summoning forth a small ice tempest in her hand, she was about to reach out and freeze the man’s head before Leon grabbed her wrist.

“Oh, come on! I’m just going to give him a little frostbite on his big, bloody nose!” growled Éclair, struggling against Leon’s firm grip.

“Éclair, my dear. I think you may have picked up a few unsavory habits from Ryan recently. Namely, assaulting Elementals of higher rank than you.”

Éclair finally sighed and threw up her hands in surrender, the mist of cold dissipating as she released her psions.

“Hmm. And you people wonder why I don’t like you,” said Skippy with his arms crossed.

“As I recall, our actions actually turned out favorably for you. When you stood up for Ryan in front of Ministers Kaves and Helaphastus, you got promoted from Second Level Lieutenant to Captain,” said Leon smoothly. He was always better at negotiation.

“Well, I suppose that’s true. But that don’t mean that I’ve forgiven you lot for playing doctor with my brain.”

“Colorful phrases aside, I can assure you that we are being quite sincere. We know that there is something sinister afoot and that our friend is in danger. We just came from his campsite where there was a battle despite there not being any examinees operating in that area. As a proctor, you have access to the security cameras throughout this facility as well as tracking devices to pinpoint the location of each candidate. I implore you, do not spurn us. Someone’s life could very well hang in the balance.”

Éclair had to admit that she was completely and utterly in awe at Leon at the moment. Not only had he spoken so eloquently and congenially, but his delivery was so smooth that she doubted that even the most stubborn and grizzled of Dwarf Lords could have turned him down. Plus, Éclair thought she could detect the slightest traces of Elemency in his voice.

Leon just keeps getting more powerful, more sure of himself. I’m nothing compared to him, thought Éclair dejectedly.

Even Skippy seemed impressed as he considered Leon’s words for a moment before saying. “Oh, alright. I’ll com the Control Center and see if I can find the boy. If he’s still in the training fields, we’ll know where he is and what condition he is in.”

“Please check on Torsha as well. She’s his mentor from the Monastery?” asked Éclair earnestly.

“Alright, then,” said Skippy before pressing a finger to his wrist communicator and speaking some code phrases to patch him into command.

“You must show me how to do that,” whispered Éclair quietly.

“Do what?” Leon asked with an innocent smile.

“Put a touch of Elemency into your words so that you’re more compelling.”

“Ah, so you noticed. You’re sharper than he is, that’s for sure.”

“I still can’t figure out how you did it. Was that a form of Telepathy or Sound Elemency?”

“It’s actually a combination of both. Interlacing telepathic commands into the sound vibrations of my voice in order to persuade people to my side of thinking. It’s not absolute, though. It will only work if the person is not paying attention, or is incredibly dull. And there is a limit to what I can compel others to do. For instance, I wouldn’t be able to convince someone to do something that is totally against their nature, like order them to harm someone they care about, or kill when they are quite docile at heart. It’s mostly simple commands that no one would care about to begin with. That’s the limit of my influence with this ability ... at least for now.”

“My goodness! You know how to combine the elements with your psionic abilities?”

“I’m still an amateur at best. I have yet to fully master my skills.”

“Still, it’s amazing. This is high-level Elemency reserved only for the most skilled and experienced of the order. The sheer amount of studying and knowledge one would have to attain before even undertaking such training is staggering.”