Read The Crystals of Tlalli: Awakened Affinities Page 27
built thin man walked over, his back stiff at the insults he had incurred. Toren pulled a small disc from his pouch and handed it to Morick. “Take this; it’s a tracking device. I have programmed it to track the source of the power disturbance. Its range is limited and will only last about a week or two. Find the source and report back to me in Denham at the Rose Inn. You will get paid then. Don’t approach the source or try anything stupid. You observe and report back to me in a month’s time. Do I make my self clear Morick? Even you can’t screw this us!” Morick snatched the object and put it in his pocket.
“Perfectly clear Toren.”
The mage did not sound happy. Moyo waited till they had left and then waited a little longer. He couldn’t decide who he would follow the mage or the spy so he took a coin out and flipped it into the air catching it and slapping it to his arm. He would follow the spy. The man had gone up to a well-kept way and traveled toward the city of Jamara by Moyo’s map. That was as good a guess as any since he was no tracker. The others had left in a treb toward the north. The man Moyo followed was on foot as far as he could tell.
Moyo waited till the moons had risen to light the night. He flew high following the flow way till he saw a wayside inn; he landed and stopped there for the night. He needed to rest his injured leg and get a good night sleep before looking for the man he had followed. He had a good suspicion that he was following the same girl he was so one would lead to the other.
Moyo used his affinity to disguise his appearance. It wouldn’t do to draw to much attention to him-self now. With his white and blue wings he would never blend in. So he now looked like an old human farmer with graying hair. People looked up at him as he limped into town. Maybe human was the wrong look for here, aw well to late now. He ate at a fast food place and then went to the inn and got a room. He showered, tended his ankle, and went to sleep. He would worry about the morning when it got there.
...
At the same time Moyo was drifting off to sleep Rica was in her room preparing for bed. Her thoughts went to the lessons she had to do tomorrow and the memorization of the teleportation spells. Rica took a shower and then sat in her pajamas thinking about her life as it was now and all that she had gone through in the last month and a half or was it longer, time was weird here. Rica heard Jim outside her window scratching to get in. He would disappear for a week at a time and then suddenly show up as though nothing had happened.
“Hiding from your new brood?” Rica laughed and opened the window for the rako to scurry into her room. Jim jumped onto her shoulder and rubbed his face on her cheek. She would let him out the window in the morning.
16 - Frustration
The slight figure of a man crept up to the front door of the house not making a sound. It had been a week of false leads and dead end clues that finally brought him to Shani. The town was not small, a suburb of the city of Jamara, the tracking device was starting to fail, the energy operating the device was almost gone, he had to locate the source of the power or the mage he worked for would literally skin him alive. Morick was tired of taking orders from Toren. He planned to get what he could out of this assignment and disappear hopefully with a lot of cash in his pocket. He hadn’t decided yet if he would report to Toren or not. Toren was always showing everyone around how stupid Morick was and how smart Toren was. Well that was not going to continue. Morick planned to extort these people. He had found the girl to be the source of power yesterday when the tracking device had practically burned his hand at the store when the girl had passed him. It had stopped working all together after that. Morick had followed the girl to this house. Well he would get what he wanted and sell the information to another interested party and leave Toren to answer to his employers. With a grin on his face he peeked in the window the family was setting at the dinner table.
...
The front door burst open and a man strode in as though he owned the place. He yelled, “No one move or you will die!” He held a disk that glowed in his left hand.
Jim, Rica’s pet rako chattered and leapt at the man. The disk in the intruders hand glowed and a light hit Jim in mid air. He was incinerated, the ash falling to the floor. Rica cried out in shock.
“Jim!”
“No one move!” The thief yelled.
“What do you want?” Zafira’s father said.” Just don’t hurt anyone.”
“Shut up! I do the talking here. Not you!” The man said.
“Ok, ok please just calm down.” Zafira’s dad said. The thief waved the disk at him and yelled.” YOU SHUT UP!” Rica’s heart was beating so fast she thought she would pass out; her face was wet with tears. This just could not be happening.
The thief threw a bag at Zafira. “You, put all the valuables and cash in this house in the bag. If you try anything I’ll kill them.” Zafira’s hands were shaking as she picked up the bag and went to do as he said. Zafira’s mom and dad put their money, the jewelry they were wearing and the silver wear from the drawer in the cabinet in the bag. The thief picked up a silver bowl with flowers in it and dumped the flowers on to the floor. He stuffed the bowl in the bag as he grabbed it from Zafira. He shoved her toward the rest and told her to sit on the floor.
He laughed, “You will not call the guardians or tell anyone I was here, or I will know and come back. The people I work for have ways of knowing things. They want that girl, I wont tell them where she is or who you are if you make regular deposits at this place every week.” He threw a scrap of paper on the floor. “No one move for five minutes after I leave the door. I’ll be watching.” Then he backed out the door and closed it.
The family sat in shock then hugged each other, Zafira and Rica were crying. The shock of the sudden violence was settling on them in waves of emotion. Tod said they could not let this go unreported. Chaura was scared for them all and didn’t want the man or his threatened employers to show up. Tod said they would decide what to do in the morning.
They didn’t feel safe in the house, and waited for an hour then went to an inn for the night. Rica was not thinking clearly and kept remembering the way Jim had just turned to ash in a split second. She was shaking and could not seem to stop. They all spent a sleepless night. In the morning they discussed what to do. Zafira’s father thought the man was just bluffing and made the decision to report it to the local guardian station in Shani. They spent the rest of the morning filling out reports and being interviewed by the two Guardians of Peace who had responded to the call. Rica and Zafira were questioned about the missing people report they had made in Jamara a few weeks ago. They had nothing else to report to the guardians. Rica asked if they had found anything, they hadn’t and the investigation had been stepped up. A guardian had gone missing as well, the men questioning them thought the incident might have been connected to the robbery but the other guardian in charge thought it unlikely. Rica found she couldn’t see their auras or read their feelings. She was worried that her magic had failed, then laughed out loud at such a thought. The laugh turned into a sobs and soon Chaura was setting near her with her arms around her shaking shoulders.
“Three weeks ago I would have been glad if the magic deserted me. Now I miss it can you imagine that?” Rica babbled.
“It will be all right Rica. I’m sure Jim didn’t suffer it was so fast.”
“I – I know. I just can’t use my magic. I think it’s gone.”
“I think she is in shock. We should take her to the healer clinic.” Tod said concern in his voice.
“No, I – I mean yes I am probably in shock but I can’t use my magic. I tried to see the auras but I can’t. I don’t know what’s wrong.” Rica said a little to loudly, frustration in her voice. Why wouldn’t they understand?
“Oh dear. I didn’t realize that’s what you meant. Some times when under great distress, when you are just learning your gifts the emotions can suppress affinities or sort of short them out for a while. They will return. Have no fear of that.” Chaura consoled her.
??
?My poor brave Jim. Why did he do that? Jump at that crazy man.” Rica broke down into sobs again. Great now I can’t stop crying! Three weeks ago I would have been thrilled to be rid of this magic now it’s like part of me has been ripped away. Dang it, I miss it. The memory of Jim turning to ash in front of her kept running in her mind. She couldn’t seem to turn it off.
Rica had never been mugged, beat up, or other wise involved in a violet crime before. She was feeling helpless and didn’t like the feeling. Something inside of her was broken. Her trust. Her sense of safety was forever altered. With all that had happened she felt more determined then ever to learn what she needed to protect herself and those around her. Though she did not know what she could have done in the robbery that was different; she knew she wanted to be better prepared for anything that might come her way. She would train with Zosimo at the studio he attended and learn all she could about her affinities. She wished she would have been able to focus on that thief and use some kind of spell to stop him but all she had been able to do is cry because Jim had died. That would not happen again, next time she promised herself she would be able to do something, anything than just sit there and cry.