|
Escape From Manitou Island: Part 195 |
|
(DISCLAIMER: This part, and all parts hereafter, are works in progress (WIPs) and have not been proofread or checked for plot inconsistencies. I've decided to present them "as is" for now, as there is a significant amount of unfinished material; yet this story has been on hiatus for a long while, I've forgotten certain details, and I have no plans to resume work on it any time soon. Please keep in mind while reading that details may change in the future. Should you spot an inconsistency, however, please feel free to point it out to me for possible correction.)
DAVID & GOLIATH CHIBIABOS OPENED HIS eyes and stared pensively at the wall before him. A glowing, breaking web... Winter Born was burrowed down as deep as she could get into Kenu's back feathers. Charmian glanced at her from time to time; she said nothing, but for all Winter Born's enthusiasm about coming along, she could tell she was afraid. Every once in a while Winter Born would nibble on her thumbnail, then stop, then do it again, peering ahead through the gathering clouds, anxiety on her face. Charmian rather wished she hadn't come up with this insane idea at all. What am I thinking? She's just a little kid. Sure, a part-demon, really freaky-powerful little kid, but still, a little kid nonetheless... What's more important to me, her or the Island? And as soon as she thought this she flushed terribly and shrank down into Kenu's feathers as well, not wanting to answer it even to herself. "Can you see anything yet?" she asked Kenu, just to break the tension. "NOT YET," he boomed, scanning the horizon. "BUT THEN AGAIN, IT'S GETTING DARK! I HATE TO SAY IT, BUT WE ANIMIKI ARE MUCH BETTER IN DAYLIGHT THAN IN THE DARK...DO YOU THINK I SHOULD THROW SOME LIGHTNING TO SEE THINGS A LITTLE BETTER--?" Charmian sank her fingers into his feathers. "No, thanks!" she said hastily. "We want to sneak up as much as we can--at least, as much as you can sneak up on somebody..." She looked to the side to see X'aaru come wheeling up toward them. "He'll sense us coming, for sure, but any element of surprise is better than nothing. X? What is it?" "I think I saw the gorge just ahead!" X'aaru said, pointing with his nose. "It's not that big, but rather deep. It's so easy to miss unless you're up above it. Just a big crack in the ground. There's some water running through the bottom; I guess the snowmelt flooded it a little." A big crack in the ground, Charmian thought, reminded of Crack-in-the-Island, and she felt a pang; how was Nathalit doing right about now? When would she see her again? "Okay...lead the way, then," she said, and the demon turned and flew off, Kenu flapping along after him. "There it is!" X'aaru whispered loudly when at last a slit in the land appeared some distance ahead. Charmian had to squint to see it as night was starting to fall and the wind was picking up. From here, it was just a darker slash in the darkness. She tapped Kenu and he descended while they were still a good way from it. Not long after, three small shapes and one somewhat bigger one were scurrying through the grass, heads low. "I wish there were some trees or rocks here or something!" Charmian hissed, darting nervous glances at their barren surroundings. "We should've called my people to come along," Kenu, now in human form, lamented. "Why didn't we ask them along?" "Because even them being who they are, they aren't enough to stop this," Charmian answered, straining to see the ravine. "Maybe if your grandfather were here," she added, on seeing the disconsolate look on his face; that seemed to mollify him a little, though he still sighed and rubbed at one eye. X'aaru crowded close to Charmian's side, like a big dog, and she put her hand on his shoulder to let him guide the way. "It's just several paces that way," he whispered. "What do we do now?" Charmian gestured at Kenu. "Kenu--you stay out here, back a little bit, and be ready to call the Animiki if something goes wrong." She'd expected a protest, so had come up with this suggestion to keep him compliant; it worked, and he nodded and scurried several yards away to squat in the grass and look upward. "X, you'll probably need to carry us down in there. Don't worry though, we'll go in away from where he is and just take a look first." The demon nodded, though he still looked anxious. Charmian and Winter Born climbed on his back and, on all fours, he ran to the gorge's edge and dropped inside. Turtle sat in her pile of furs, staring with wide eyes at the large shape occupying the middle of the room. Megissogwun ignored her, sitting hunched over with his arms drawn in around his middle, his breath rasping in his throat. He was still the most powerful--he knew that, he wasn't even worried--yet he wasn't nearly as powerful as he'd been before. And he couldn't understand that. I had that mouse's spirit right in my hand. That fire-haired brat knew it and made me let go. It doesn't matter. He won't present any further challenge. He winced and a shimmer of blue passed over him. But what was that he already did to me? "He is only half manitou," he said weakly. Turtle sat up a bit, still staring at him. "Halflings do not have such power! So where did he get it? And what happened to my power?" "Told you Papa's strong," the girl said, but she kept her voice small, as if not to cross him. He didn't bother looking at her. There was a pause, then she added, "Your tummy aches so bad, then you should just go back home and leave us all alone! It's easy as that. I bet Papa will let you go, if you just go nicely." Several hours ago her comments would have irritated him; as it was now, he was too exhausted to be annoyed. "That Island of yours," he said, "is already well on its way to destruction. It does not matter what your 'papa' did or did not do to me. As long as I am still standing..." "But you're not standing, not barely. You're just about knocked down, I can see it!" Now her words sparked a flare of indignation, and he put out a hand to push himself up. He grimaced as he did so; the cuts to his arms and sides opened up and bled afresh, but more than that, it was the bizarre fatigue filling him which confused him. It felt as if half his medicine had been sucked or drained away. How did that happen? "I am standing, you pathetic crumb." Her lip stuck out. "Barely." "Barely at least is better than the state I left your father in," he said, not even caring anymore that he was arguing with somebody not worth arguing with. Turtle clenched her fists. "Liar liar, moccasins on fire! I know he's just fine! You wouldn't be so messed up if he were dead or hurt. You wonder why you're so weak, it's 'cause Papa did it to you, that's why." "Then that is why he let me take that stone right out of his chest?" The words came out before he'd even thought about them, and once he said them he was surprised--the remark was so spiteful, it wasn't at all like him. Spite was for those who didn't trust in their own power. Not only that, but it wasn't even true, and he couldn't think of why he would feel the need to lie, to a child no less. He had only a second to think this over before the little girl was suddenly flying at him, and he blinked, surprised yet again. She landed on his shoulder with a thump, clinging on with arm and legs, and commenced hitting him in the head with her free hand. Her blows didn't hurt him at all, but it took him a moment to react as he was too preoccupied staring at the little wings that had somehow sprouted from her back. "How dare you say such things about Papa!! You're nothing but a big liar! You wouldn't BE hiding out here if that were true and I know it! If he were here he'd--" Megissogwun at last recovered himself and, grasping the collar of her dress, pulled her off effortlessly. She kept flailing and kicking and yelling and he could have sworn he even saw her eyes flash blue a little bit. He turned her about as she hung, perusing her wings, then turned her back and frowned. "You are part Michinimakinong, small child?" "A'course I am! If you did anything other than just beat up everybody you meet maybe you'd know that by now! Now put me down and let me beat you up! If Papa were here--" In response Megissogwun stepped toward the fur pile and dropped her in it; she toppled and sank so only her legs stuck out, kicking and waving. Megissogwun turned away from her and faced the vision wall, pressing a hand to his side and wincing, feet nearly dragging as he moved. It does not matter. I'll regain my strength once this is over. And then I will wonder why this bothered me so much. He looked down and stared at one of the deeper cuts on his arm, as he had after Makwaquae's attack, but this time nothing happened. The cut remained. His brief confusion was replaced by fury; he ground his teeth and gave up, looking back at the wall. It didn't matter. Cuts healed in time. Once he regained his power... He felt a twinge in the back of his mind. Any other time, he would have ignored it, or at the most taken brief notice, then brushed it off, for he knew that the presence he sensed wasn't worth paying any attention to. But this time, he did notice, and paused. The approach of such insignificant parties meant nothing in and of itself, but combined with everything else that was happening, now it could be cause for concern. He turned to look off at the side of the cave. Turtle pulled her head free of the furs and noticed him, glancing in the same direction but seeing nothing; however, a second later she let out a whoop and started clapping. "They're coming! Told you! Bet you're scared now, right?" She can sense them...? He frowned again, before sensing a flickering off to his side; he turned his head to see that the vision wall was lit up, showing a clear view of three dim shapes making their way through the ravine. One had wings; one was the fire-haired brat; the last was the winter-haired girl. He had no idea why those three would choose to come die right now. He also had no idea why his vision wall was showing this, when he hadn't told it to do so. Why was so little making sense all of a sudden--? "Even your wall thinks you should just go back home and give up!" Turtle said cheerily. "Why not listen to it, huh? It'll be a lot easier than facing Papa when he gets here and having him do THAT to you again..." It was not that worm that did this, it was Michibou, Megissogwun thought, feeling his jaw tighten. And even he is not worth wasting time on. I should just demolish this wall once this is done. He clenched one fist and the vision disappeared, flickering out as the wall went dark. Turtle lowered her arms and disappointment flitted across her face; Megissogwun waved his hand at the side wall and it opened up, revealing the ravine just beyond. They weren't in sight yet, but they were nearby. From the corner of his eye he saw the little girl tumble out of the pile of furs and make a run for it, her little legs carrying her like mad toward the opening. He remembered his last* injunction toward her against running away--an order she'd obeyed, until now--and that knowledge suddenly seemed to light his brain on fire, and he jerked his hand at the air before she could reach him. There was a snapping sound and Turtle was hurled back as if she'd just slammed into an invisible wall; she landed hard on the floor, her breath puffing out of her, and lay there dazed and blinking, welts growing on her arms where she'd had them raised in front of herself as she ran. Megissogwun stared at her for a moment, unable to understand why he'd felt the need to do that. She was just an insignificant child; if she escaped, then she escaped--she'd end up dead soon enough anyway, along with the rest of them. What was the point in stopping her? "You lied," Turtle said in a small voice, pushing herself into a sitting position and rubbing at her bruised arms as tears filled her eyes. "Thought you said you weren't gonna hurt me!* I thought a manitou always kept his word!" YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A CRAWLING LYING WORM! A manitou always keeps his promise!... The words of the dead Bearwalker echoed in his head. He ignored them--none of it was worth understanding--and turned away from the sniffling girl, stepping out of the cave. "I prefer Crack-in-the-Island," Charmian whispered, peering around nervously as she and X'aaru and Winter Born picked their way through the ravine. "I've never even been in Crack-in-the-Island*," Winter Born whispered back. "But I hope to go someday!" "Well, it's worth seeing, if you don't mind sharp crystals and weird glowing amorphous things." Charmian halted at the same instant that X'aaru did, the fur on the demon's nape prickling as a low growl escaped him. She felt her own skin prickle. "What is it?" Winter Born asked anxiously. It was a moment or so before Charmian answered. "He's coming this way," she said at last, and her brow furrowed. "Cripes...his medicine is weak. I wish 'Bozho had been conscious..." Winter Born nudged into place beside her and looked up. "But you said I'm strong enough to beat him, right?" she said; Charmian looked down and saw the mix of hope and fear in her eyes, and bit her lip. Winter Born unfortunately noticed this, and Charmian wanted to slap herself for doing it; nonetheless, the younger girl looked back ahead, seeming to grow more resolute. "Mother told me about all the things you did for the Island. She said for sure you must've felt scared and worried if you could even do any of it but you did! Well, I'll do the same thing. Just watch!" They had stopped near a sharp bend in the ravine, and the left wall jutted out in front of them, cutting off the view ahead. Charmian sensed the wavering power beyond it coming closer; however, it halted, and there was a moment of silence as they all crouched where they'd stopped. "Well?" a voice called out from some distance away; this time Winter Born started gnawing on her fingernails, and X'aaru flattened his ears and whined a little, but they both followed when Charmian stepped around the bend. The ravine walls ascended perfectly vertical on both sides, the gorge itself only about eight or ten feet across, littered with weeds and broken hunks of rock. Charmian had no idea how a cave could fit in it, but she knew that such things didn't seem to obey all the laws of physics, so didn't question it. She tried to sense Turtle but couldn't; however, she didn't even need to sense Megissogwun, seeing as he was standing right before her, perhaps about twenty feet away, staring back. She took in the sight of him, drying blood running down his arms, how tattered and askew his adornments were, and how the glow around him flickered and wavered as it never had before, but there was still a malevolent blue sheen to his eyes. It was this last thing that startled her the most. He'd never* given her such a look. What--? I'm NOTHING compared to him. He wouldn't even give me the time of day if I weren't the leader of this group! So why's he giving me the stink-eye now...? "A strange party to come looking for me," Megissogwun said. "Is your friend the Rabbit too indisposed to finish what he started?" "A minor setback is all," Charmian said, feeling her heart crowding into her throat despite how calm she kept her voice. Winter Born's hand snaked into hers and squeezed. "How's your hand, by the way? Though it looks like that's the least of your problems..." "A minor setback, is all," Megissogwun replied. "You didn't even manage to break the skin, and seeing as that mouse isn't with you, I wonder why you even bothered saving him at all." "I realize friendship and loyalty seem to be foreign concepts to you," Charmian said, "but you should really try them sometime; at least, it's a lot less hassle than the crap you're pulling." She paused. "He took some of your medicine away, didn't he? I saw how you went right through him--how both of you glowed like that. He did the same thing when he came out of the mountain--like he joined with it for a minute. He knew what you were going to do so he opened himself up, and you figured it was easy pickings, but the truth is that took a lot more out of you than you want to admit." She paused again, then added, "It's like the two of you became one for just a second. Sounds funny, but I think he got a lot more out of it than you did." Megissogwun's eyes flashed. "The reason why you three in particular wish to die right now, before the others--? Hurry it up since I have an Island to get back to." X'aaru flared his wings and growled again, bristling to make himself look as big as he could, though Charmian noticed he kept his tail between his legs. There was a flash and a boom of thunder up above the ledge; she could only guess that he'd sent some kind of signal to Kenu to make things a bit more dramatic as well. Charmian grasped Winter Born's hand, then pulled on her arm a little; she felt the girl resist for just a split second before stepping forward to stand in front of her and to the side a bit. She forced herself to stop fiddling with the fringe on her dress but didn't stop gnawing on her lip. Megissogwun frowned. "And what is this? She wants me to kill her first?" Charmian rolled her eyes. "No, dumbass. Might sound weird to you but people really don't care to go out of their way to let you kill them! Ever stop to think that we had a backup plan all along?" "And she is the plan?" Now Megissogwun rolled his eyes--"That is the face I believe you would make, if you were in my position." Bring your power out, Winter Born, but don't do anything with it just yet, Charmian thought, keeping it as private as she could. Winter Born's glow became brighter. You'll have to use surprise on him. You'll know when it's best. "Such medicine is impressive in such a small child, especially a human one," Megissogwun said, "but hardly impressive compared to mine, even with as weakened as mine is. Seriously, small children, what is the point of this plan?" "To keep you from destroying the Island," Charmian grated back. "Since it seems to take more than a MOUNTAIN falling on your head to make the point! Kabeyun didn't kill you off the first time, so what was it that convinced you back THEN to not bother until now?" "Easy," Megissogwun said. "I did not have my full power back just yet and had to bide my time. When a manitou is weak, their memory goes hazy. It unfortunately took just this long for me to get back to pick up where I left off. However, if you think to compare that rodent to Kabeyun in strength, the comparison is a woeful one. I'm nowhere near as weak as he left me." "If you were to die, what becomes of your cave?" Megissogwun frowned. "It will remain where it is, until the medicine I put around it fades away, and then the manitous within it will wander off and it will be gone. The point of such a useless question?" "I just need to know where to find Turtle once this is done with," Charmian said. She kept her stare fixed on him, but from the corner of her eye watched how Winter Born's glow flickered. "A foolish thing to plan for," Megissogwun replied. Mainlander... Charmian just faintly heard Chakenapok's thought enter her head; she hated how distant he seemed, but at least he was still there, which was a bit of a relief. Ask him about the Red Swan, he said, and she blinked when a mental image was sent immediately after. A smile started slowly creeping up her face; Megissogwun's frown grew on seeing it. "Who is talking to you right now?" he asked. "Nobody important," Charmian said. "By the way...how's the Red Swan doing? Seems she was in a bit of a mood the last time you tried to say hi to her..." The way Megissogwun's eyes suddenly widened was almost comical--she still wasn't used to seeing him surprised for any reason. He opened his mouth--to demand to know what she knew, she was sure of it--when the glow around Winter Born abruptly retracted to nothing but a thin white line, and she knew to step back, pushing X'aaru along with her. "What--?" the demon started to say, before yelping and flaring his wings--one of them spread out over Charmian herself and everything went dark. A horrific crashing noise rent the air and she winced, hearing X'aaru yelp again and feeling his wing hit the top of her head; she grabbed his arm and suddenly could see again when he lifted it and flapped it at the air. She blinked to see that the appearance of the ravine had changed since a moment ago--the nearer parts of the walls were now pockmarked and fresh new boulders had appeared upon the ground around them. Oddly, the space around X'aaru and herself was mostly clear, though Megissogwun stood in the midst of rubble, blinking himself. "X! You okay?" Charmian whispered, looking up at him. X'aaru was grimacing. "I...think so," he said. "One of those rocks hit my back..." He flexed his wings. "But my wings seem all right. I think I can still fly if I have to." "That rock was coming right at my head, wasn't it?" Charmian asked, then, not expecting an answer, glanced back at Winter Born and Megissogwun. The space around Winter Born was clear as well; she stood facing the big manitou, looking dismally small compared to him, but had a strangely neutral look on her face which unnerved Charmian. She seemed almost bored, the way Megissogwun usually looked. "It'd be best if you went back where you came from," Winter Born said, her voice just as calm as her face. Megissogwun peered up at the newly rearranged ravine walls, then at the assortment of boulders and broken rock hunks lying strewn about him. "Impressive," he said. "But still useless. This is nothing compared to that mountain your friend brought down on me, and that didn't work, did it?" "I just thought a warning would be nice," Winter Born replied. She was silent for a moment, then said, "Charmian just said you went to go see the Red Swan...I'm friends with her too, so you really should go back home now." Megissogwun's lip curled back from his teeth. "You all will tell me what you know about her!" he snarled, making Charmian and X'aaru edge back a bit, eyes growing. "Since everyone I've even been in contact with seems to know so very much! This is the least you could do before I KILL all of you!" He really DOESN'T know who she is, Charmian thought, perplexed. Then what about all that stuff Chakenapok just sent me...the Red Swan saying HE'S the one who put her where she is...? She wanted nothing more than to toss that out at him, but knew she couldn't distract Winter Born, not even by sending her a thought. "If she doesn't want you to know, then I'm not going to tell you," Winter Born answered. "You're sure you don't want to go back home while you have the chance?" "Chance?" Megissogwun spat and kicked one of the rocks, sending it smashing into the wall. "Who are YOU to speak to ME of chances, little brat? When I've fought the Four Winds and defeated three, and faced down the Sky Mother, and just about ended the world itself? Who are YOU to think you stand even the smallest, most pathetic chance?" "I don't think I'm anybody," Winter Born said. "But that isn't what matters, is it? One of the Winds beat you, and Geezhigo-Quae is still here, and the world is still here too, so where does that leave you?" Megissogwun's eyes turned brilliant blue, his pupils disappearing. X'aaru whined and folded his wings close, one enveloping Charmian's body; she grasped the feathers, feeling her heart pounding, as well as the new charge in the air--one not caused by Kenu, nor by Winter Born--and tried to keep herself from shaking. She sensed, rather than saw, a flash, and ducked her head as X'aaru did the same; she peered out from under his wing however and saw that Megissogwun's hand had moved, and the tops of the ravine walls had broken loose, leaving great gouges in the earth above, and those massive slabs of earth and rock had sailed right at Winter Born. She didn't even have time to worry; they stopped in midair, quivered, then blasted into pieces, shattering every which way. She flinched back but they sailed harmlessly over her and X'aaru, smacking into the walls and pattering to the ground. A welter of pieces sailed at Megissogwun himself; he raised his arm and batted them aside, frowning at the little girl who stood unharmed before him. "Impressive," he said again. "Where exactly is it that you get such power?" Winter Born said nothing in response, the glow around her expanding outward and swirling like a fog. Charmian saw how tendrils of it seemed to stretch up into the sky and disappear from view. She puzzled over this, then drew back when the glow retracted, again forming the brilliant white outline. "You focus it," Megissogwun said, just realizing. This time, when Winter Born attacked, he knew it was coming and braced himself, but that didn't make it any less impressive. One moment, they were in a ravine. The next moment, they were in a crater. Charmian struggled just to breathe, feeling as if the air had all been sucked from her lungs, and even saw a few feathers tear loose from X'aaru's wing. Her hair almost blinded her; she nearly couldn't even lift her arm to brush it back. The air was filled with shrieking and whistling and she had to hold on to the demon just to keep herself from getting swept away. Where earlier two steep walls had risen at their sides, now the earth opened up in a wide cavity like the caldera of a volcano; the land swept away, pitted and torn, to all sides, and when she glanced up she even saw Kenu way at the top of the rim, peering down at them with his mouth hanging open. As for the ravine walls, they were now swirling around in the sky in pieces, some the size of pebbles, some the size of houses. The sky was flashing and booming, but somehow Charmian knew that the Animiki hadn't been called. She suddenly noticed what looked like faint white lines trailing up from Winter Born toward the swirling rubble, and realized that she was controlling it. Unbelievable! Megissogwun opened his mouth. "You--" The pale threads pulled in toward Winter Born, then snapped and vanished. Promptly, every piece of the former ravine walls sped toward him. He ground his teeth and started striking them away, one after another, as some hit him and some spun around before coming back at him. Every time one shattered, the smaller pieces rejoined the fray. Charmian knew this would do little to overwhelm him, seeing how Manabozho had failed, but she knew that Winter Born wouldn't have intended this to be the finale anyway. It was a pretty good distraction. "X," Charmian said, "we should get back up there with Kenu." She didn't even have to explain why; he ducked and let her climb atop his back, then flapped his wings hard and started to rise into the air. As soon as they crossed the crater and reached Kenu's side--the little Animiki hopping up and down and waving his arms at them--a giant blast swept them head over heels and they zoomed over him, spinning toward the ground. Charmian cried out and dug her fingers into X'aaru's fur as tightly as she could, squinching her eyes shut and bracing for impact; somehow the demon managed to right himself before landing, slamming down onto his shoulder and then collapsing with a wheeze. Charmian gasped a few times--it felt like her chest had been crushed--then Kenu was tugging at her arm and pulling on X'aaru's wing. "OH MY GOODNESS! Are you all right? Demon creature! Get up! Are you all right--?" "I...think...so," Charmian croaked, coughing and wincing. X'aaru started twitching and she clambered off of him, feeling relieved that at least he was alive. She clutched at her chest and hacked a few times before she could breathe normally again--her lungs burned, but other than that, and a throbbing ache in all of her bones, she seemed fine. X'aaru groggily pushed himself upright and rubbed at his head, stretching and flexing his wings and shoulder while Kenu looked Charmian over. "You seem all right!" he exclaimed. "But, oh! Did you see it?" He glanced toward the crater, widened his eyes, then tugged on her arm. "Look! See it?" Charmian and X'aaru turned painfully to look, then their eyes widened as well. The crater was apparently still there, but no longer visible; instead, a gigantic bubble of light had enveloped it, rising up from the hole right against its edges, quivering as if ready to pop. It hummed and crackled and sparked and swirled as if filled with smoke. The three of them stood facing it silently for a moment. "What is it?" X'aaru asked in a whimper. "Winter Born," Charmian murmured. "That's her medicine...I recognize the colors. Holy shit it's huge." The other two looked up at her and frowned as she took a few steps forward. "But where is she? Is she still in there with Megissogwun--?" "Look!" Kenu cried, pointing to right side of the glowing mass. X'aaru and Charmian did so. Charmian had to squint, as the light was glaring so brightly now, but at last she spotted a tiny shape emerging from a crevice in the ground at the edge of the quivering bubble--she took in a breath, recognizing Winter Born, but forced herself not to call out to her to see if she was all right as all that Winter Born did was stand up and turn back around to face the bubble again. Her dress and hair were smudged but her face was as calm as ever. She held her hands out toward the light bubble and looked to be concentrating; then she shook her head, as if to snap herself out of something, and flicked her hand instead. The bubble shook, then began to shrink, rapidly retracting back into the crater. Charmian watched as it diminished down into a small globe in the area where Megissogwun had last been standing, and it stayed there, glaring brighter than ever, sparks shooting off of it every so often. Winter Born sank to her knees and the other three hurried over to her as she put a hand to her head. "Winter Born!" Charmian called. "What did you do? Is that him down there?" Winter Born looked up, seeming exhausted now, but her eyes brightened when she saw them. "You're all okay!" she exclaimed. "I was worried you'd get hit...though I tried to be careful..." She looked down at the brilliant globe. "He's inside that...I trapped him since I'm not sure what else to do with him, I really don't think I can kill him! But it should hold. I put everything I have into it. I thought of Mother, and Father, and Grandfather..." She let out a breath. "My head hurts! And my arms and legs feel funny!" Charmian let out a choked laugh and dropped down beside her. "That's called doing a great job! You should recover soon. What about that bubble, though? What are you going to do with it?" "Well, I suppose I can make it smaller and tighter, just in case. But what then?" "Don't worry. 'Bozho should be coming to pretty soon, and considering how weak Megissogwun was, I bet he can finish this now. Just finish with the bubble, and I'll send X or Kenu to fetch the others. We'll have to find some way to get those Lynxes..." She trailed off, as Winter Born had apparently stopped listening and had lifted one hand, fingers outspread. Eyes glassy, she slowly curled her fingers back as if to make a fist, staring at the globe the entire time. Charmian looked to see it shrinking and taking a shape that was taller than it was wide. "I can't wait to get back home," Winter Born murmured. "I'm so tired..." She closed her fist with a tight grasping motion and sighed. The glow halted at its current size and held it for a moment, quivering; Charmian started to relax, only to jerk upright with a gasp of disbelief when Megissogwun stepped right out of it. X'aaru bristled and Kenu dodged behind him, Winter Born's eyes growing wide. He looked up at them--seeming the same as before, not hampered in the least--and called out, "And what was that supposed to do to me?" |