The Blade of Shattered Hope (Page 50)
“Tell him, Mothball,” Rutger said. “Tell him what they told us.”
The tall Realitant’s eyes flickered down to her friend, then to Sato. She stiffened her body and held her head a little higher, composing herself. “Well, there’s the obvious bit Tick mentioned. Factory’s full of Jane’s hideous creations, guardin’ every last inch of it. But that’s not the worst part. Not worst by far, the way I reckon it. What chills me bones is to think of what we’ll see if we get inside the ruddy place. Things unnatural and evil. Things that just might cure of us sleepin’ till we drop dead of it.”
“Like what?” Sato asked, his curiosity mixed with a chilling fear. “What are they doing in there?”
Mothball pulled her long, gangly arms behind her and clasped her hands as she stared down at her own feet. “They take animals and . . . meld them with other animals, usin’ the mutated powers of the Thirteenth’s Chi’karda. Meld ’em right together into things you wouldn’t dare tell ’round a campfire.”
Sato held his breath.
Mothball’s head snapped up so she could look him square in the eyes. “But that ain’t the whole of it. Learned somethin’ brand-new few weeks back, we did. Somethin’ that’ll make your heart shrivel and scream.”
Sato swallowed. It felt like a dried clump of dirt went down his throat. “What?”
Tears leaked from both of Mothball’s eyes. “Kiddies,” she said, her voice cracking. “The animals only be tests. She’s done captured a bunch of kiddies and plans on usin’ ’em soon as she’s good and ready.”
Chapter 35
Darkness of the Way
Tick couldn’t believe what he’d done. Even after some time to think about it, his mind still couldn’t accept it. He sat on the forest floor, absently ripping apart leaves from a nearby bush, surrounded by darkness and cool air.
He’d winked something away. All by himself. After all the strange episodes leading up to that moment—the reappearance of the letter Kayla had burned, winking his group from the Thirteenth back to Master George’s headquarters, the near-catastrophe in the Fourth Reality—he’d finally used Chi’karda on his own terms. He’d controlled it and used its power to wink—a thing the Realitants thought only a Barrier Wand could accomplish.
He’d done it all by himself.
“Told ya you were superhuman,” Paul said from behind Tick, startling him.
He needed that jolt because he didn’t have time to sit and contemplate. He looked down at his watch and clicked the little light—it’d been at least ten minutes since he sent the message to Sato. At least, he hoped he’d sent the message to Sato.
He pushed off the leafy bed of the ground and stood up, turning the flashlight back on as he did so. The others all stood closely together, examining him. Only Paul was smiling.
“What?” Tick asked. “I told you what I was going to do.”
“Yeah, you did,” Sofia said. “But . . . it was kind of spooky to watch. You’re really weird, Tick.”
He knew her well enough by now to recognize the compliment. But what did she mean about the spooky part? “Why? What happened? What did it look like when I did it?”
Sofia glanced at Master George—who nodded once, slowly, then at Paul—who let out a little burst of a laugh—then back at Tick. “Little streams of orange light spilled out of your eyes and ears and then swirled around the silver tube until it disappeared. You didn’t see that? You were staring straight at the thing like you’d been possessed by forty demons.”
Tick felt only a little bit of shock—not so much at the orange light but the fact that he hadn’t noticed it. “No, I didn’t see it. Maybe I was concentrating too much. But when Jane pulled the Chi’karda out of me when we were under Chu’s palace, that’s what it looked like. Orange light—kind of like a fog or mist.”
“No, well, kind of, I guess,” Sofia responded. “It was more like ribbons of orange, something you’d see twirling off a cheerleader’s baton.”
“Interesting that it’s orange,” Master George said. “I wonder why we never see Chi’karda manifest itself that way when we use a Barrier Wand. Something tells me it’s related to the souliken discovery—though I’m far from understanding everything about that.”
Tick’s mind started processing what the Realitant leader had said, thinking it through and analyzing. He’d spent so much time the last few months studying science that such thinking had become second nature. But he forced himself to stop. They had to get moving—they were already behind schedule!
“Man, what are we doing?” he said through a groan. “We have to get going. Now. Come on.” He took a step, but then stopped, frowning. “Wait, any of you guys know which way is east?”
Master George pointed over his right shoulder, but Paul cut in. “Wait, man. You just did something crazy, like magical. Shouldn’t we talk about it, figure out what and how and all that, so next time you can do it again? Maybe even better?”
Tick was tired of saying it, but he repeated himself anyway. “It’ll have to wait—we need to go. Now. Just trust me.”
“Fine,” Paul said, turning toward the direction Master George had indicated. “But you promised to explain things as we walked. Start talking.”
“Okay,” Tick said. He shone the flashlight ahead of him, revealing an endless expanse of trees and brush, then walked forward, his every step crunching twigs and leaves. He moved past Master George, and the others followed right behind him. The strain from winking the tube away had worn off, and he felt the chill of the air like a sprinkle of fine mist. Being on the move again would feel good.
They’d gone about fifteen feet or so, and Tick figured now was as good a time to start talking as any. His friends deserved an explanation—even if Tick didn’t understand everything himself.
“So, the Haunce is like this big sack of people’s memories and personalities and thoughts,” Tick said. “It told me that every time we have a significant event in our lives, it leaves an electronic stamp on Reality, and those moments collect and become attached to us. That’s what a souliken is. Seems a lot easier to just call it a ghost.”
“I think I like souliken better,” Sofia said. “I’m not a big fan of ghosts.”