noveltune Book 5: Chapter 40: Vessels, (1)
Book 5: Chapter 40: Vessels, (1)
Book 5: Chapter 40: Vessels, (1)
Two mornings later, I sat on the shore at dawn. It’d been just over a month since the god-king mark on my soul had started channeling my chi into the tunnels below. Late last night, my work with the network had finished. The tunnels were full. I was once more in control of my chi and senses.
So as the sun peaked over the distant horizon, why didn’t it seem any brighter?
Its pastel colors painted the sky, from yellow to red to purple to blue and everything inbetween. I leaned back and lay in the sand, gazing at the thin clouds above, whose textures enhanced the sweeping hues. They were beautiful. Stunning, really. Yet they did nothing to soothe my racing mind.
I had assumed that the network’s completion would bring an end to my woes, and I had been wrong.
The moment the tunnels were full, I’d jerked awake. Maria had stirred beside me, but I’d reigned in my essence and slammed our connection closed, then remained still until her breathing steadied. There’d been nobody else home—our animal pals were busy advancing before the enemy force arrived—so I had slipped out into the night and wandered down to sit by the shore.
Back when I’d presented my plan to Tropica, it had seemed so logical. The right thing to do. But now that I had full agency over my power again, it all felt too real. Like a crab escaping boiling water, I had leaped from the pot and into the campfire.
Even if it was the pragmatic choice, even if it was objectively correct, and even if my friends consented... could I do it?
I had told—ordered—everyone not to answer immediately. I wanted them to mull it over, to consider it for as long as possible. Had that been a mistake? Would it have been better to encourage them? Whip them into a frenzy about defending Tropica? Some had grown fervent without my encouragement. Especially Paul, Theresa, and Paul, who had bounced from foot to foot, beyond excited by my words.
Remembering their childlike exuberance made me feel a little better. So did the woman I sensed waking up nearby, but even her pulses of affection didn’t completely alleviate my anxiety. Rather than teleport to me, she took her time to leave our home and stroll across the sand, soaking up the scenery and radiating her impression of its beauty into my mind.
“Thank you,” I said when she was only a few strides away. “That was helpful.”
“Good. That makes me feel better about having to do this.” With that last word, she teleported beside me and flicked me in the center of the forehead.
Before I could so much as make a sound, she crashed down into me and wrapped her arms around my abdomen, squeezing me tight. Her head rested on my chest and a swift breeze blew past, which tousled her hair, tickling my neck.
“What was that for?” I asked.
“For not waking me up.” She squeezed me tighter. “And for working yourself into a tizzy.”
“What makes you think I’ve been working myself into a tizzy?”
“I’m your wife. You can seal our connection all you want—I can still read you like a book. How long have you been out here?”
“Too long,” I answered honestly. “Sorry. I didn’t want to interrupt your beauty sleep.”
“Are you saying that I need beauty sleep, and you don’t?”
“Errr...”
“My poor husband has been robbed of his charm.” She nuzzled in closer. “Whatever will we do?”
I didn’t reply. I was too busy focusing on the sensations of her body against mine. I wrapped my arms around her, one hand stroking her hair.
“I have a crazy idea,” Maria said. “Maybe we can start by, I dunno, opening the magical connection we have to one another?”
“You’re sure...?”
“I insist. I’m not just going to let you sit and wallow by yourself.”
She meant it too. She let her resolve slam against the solid wall I’d placed between us. My hand drifted down to cup the side of her neck, and I opened our connection. Slowly at first, then all at once, my every thought became known.
“You’re serious?” She lifted her head and stared into my eyes, a line forming between her brows. “That’s all?”
“What do you mean, that’s all—”
I gasped as her potent feelings flooded into me at full strength. It made heat flush through my chest. I hadn’t felt this warmth since we’d started feeding chi into the tunnels. When I grew a little accustomed to the overwhelming sensations, she sent her thoughts my way.
“Wait, what? You thought I was gonna go fight the boats by myself?”
“Yes, you handsome idiot! Why do you think I didn’t teleport to you the second I woke up? I was worried you’d disappear before I could talk you out of it.”
“You really think I’d do that...?”
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She arched an eyebrow. “Do I think you would leap on an explosion in order to save your friends? You literally told me yesterday that you were tempted to do exactly that.”
“You’ve got a point, but I was being hyperbolic.”
She arched her brow even higher.
“Okay, I was being mostly hyperbolic. Still, what makes you think I would just run off and do it without telling anyone?”
“No offense, my love, but you can be impulsive. I woke up to find the tunnels full, your power returned, and our connection closed. What was I supposed to think? You were out here having a ponder?”
I grimaced. Maria had a point.
“I do,” she agreed.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to alarm you. I hoped that if I considered it long enough, I’d find a way out.”
“Find a way out...?” she repeated, then got up and knelt in the sand, rubbing her temples. “You can’t think your way out of this one, because you can’t change anything. It’s out of your control. You need distractions, not more rumination.”
“That... Huh.” I sat up. “Yeah, that actually makes sense.”
She laughed as she felt my mentality shift, that obvious truth and our restored connection doing wonders for both our moods.
“Is that how you would have spent the week? Overthinking things you can’t change?”
“If I said no, would you believe me?”
Before she could reply, we both turned toward the west. Three grinning children crested the closest dune, lifted into view by the bear they rode atop.
“Good morning!” Paul said. Theresa and Toby echoed the same, if a little less exuberantly. The siblings looked as tired as I felt. Teddy gave us a polite nod and trundled closer.
“What are you all doing here?” I asked. “Weren’t you up late with the smiths and woodwork—”
“How’d you know about that?” Theresa snapped, leaning past Paul to give me a fierce scowl.
“Uhhh. Your dads told me. Don’t worry. I didn’t poke around.”
“That so?” She leaped down from Teddy and crossed her arms, her expression turning dubious. “Are you gonna poke around now that you’re back at full strength?”
“Not at all. You’re welcome to keep secre—Wait. I’ve been suppressing my power.How did you know I finished filling the network?”
Toby rested a hand on Theresa’s shoulder. “We have more important things to discuss, sis.” He turned his attention toward me. “Our cores are still weakened by the System, so we couldn’t sense that you’d finished... but there were signs.” He pointed over his shoulder.
I quirked a brow, seeing Barry’s head and stupidly muscular neck coming over the dune behind them. When I saw the object he was pushing—and the bloke within it—I understood what Toby had meant.
Ellis’s limbs were hanging from the wheelbarrow Barry pushed. The Archivist looked half dead, his skin withered, his eyes sunken. It reminded me of how George and Geraldine had looked when I confronted them a few days ago, except worse. If I couldn’t sense the vitality whirling around his core, I might have assumed he was actually dying.
“You with us, Ellis?” I asked.
He groaned, slightly tilting one hand in a so-so gesture.
“Why in Apollo’s taunting lyre are you here? Your secret plan worked. You won. Why aren’t you sleeping it off?”
“Because he wanted to be here to watch,” Paul answered, grinning up with the mouthful of adult teeth he’d eventually grow into.
“To watch what...?”
“Your reaction!” Theresa blurted. She absentmindedly clutched the fur of Teddy’s right shoulder. “When we tell you everyone wants to do it!”
A thrill ran through me, making my stomach flutter. “You mean...?”
Paul nodded. “Yep. Everyone agreed to your plan.”
“But there’s still time. Don’t you wanna take a few more days? What if you all change your—”
“Told you,” Paul interrupted, raising a hand toward his dad. Barry rolled his eyes, reached into his pocket, then placed a single copper coin on his son’s open palm.
“We decided almost immediately after you told us what it was,” Paul continued. “We thought we should wait until you got your power back, so you could tell we meant it.”
Maria giggled and flicked my arm. “Looks like I’m not the only one who can read you like a book...”
I didn’t respond to her. Paul’s words lingered in my mind, making my hope flare and butterflies take flight in my abdomen. “When you said I’d be able to tell everyone meant it...”
All three child strategists grinned, Paul widest of all. “See for yourself.”
My chi hesitated, but this time, it had nothing to do with the network below. I feared what I’d find when I reached out toward them. Maria leaned against my side, but gave me not even a hint of a mental push. This was entirely my decision to make.
With a slow breath out, I ordered my essence to do my will. Countless tendrils flooded across the sand and into Tropica. When I got there, my breath rushed back in. Paul hadn’t been exaggerating. It really was all of them. And they were ready for me.
The entirety of Tropica said two words. Some were groggy with sleep, others were already caffeinated, yet one and all spoke with absolute certainty.
“We consent.”
Even Ellis joined in with a mutter. He skipped a few syllables, but the intent was the same.
I stumbled beneath the weight of their resolve. There could be no denying them, nor would they change their minds. All had agreed, knowing it was the best course of action. I smiled until my cheeks hurt, sending my tendrils of essence whirling around Tropica, checking in on the workshops, curious what they were all working on—
“I knew it!” Theresa screamed. “I knew you were gonna poke around!”
“Sorry! Sorry!” I raised my hands in surrender as I withdrew my chi. “Honest accident. Got a bit excited.”
Her fierce scowl returned. “Do it again and I’ll have you mauled by Little Bear.”
“Grrrr,” agreed her not-so-little bear.
Teddy’s eyes were alight with joy, making my smile reform. “Please. Anything but that. I won’t look again.”
“Good.” Theresa gave a haughty sniff and averted her face to hide her own amusement. “See that you don’t. Let’s go.” She leaped back up onto Teddy, who gave a polite nod of his massive head and turned to lumber away.
“Don’t you want to hear my orders...?” I asked.
All three kids sat bolt upright and whipped their heads around in tandem, their ideals churning at the prospect of a command.
“You, my three strategists, will be pivotal in the upcoming battle. I’ll need to focus on my own task, after all.” I squared my shoulders and straightened my back as I stared at them. “I order you to take charge of Tropica’s forces and lead us to victory.”