Jason

Jason was running on borrowed energy. He couldn’t use that mysterious “vitricity” himself, but Kelsam could use it to give him a boost, somehow, and keep him going a little longer. It took away the soreness in his feet and made his fatigue vanish, but did nothing to make him feel any less like a loser. He wasn’t even in that bad of shape, but he wasn’t a human battery. There was no way for him to keep the same sort of pace that Naomi and the Elorhans did.

And then Naomi ran off like a little brat who didn’t get her way, and Kelsam ran ahead to catch up with her, leaving Jason behind with Captain Sourpuss. At least he and Esar were united in their desire to wring Naomi’s neck.

“I’m sorry I didn’t catch her a second sooner back in the museum,” Jason said. “Then neither one of us would be in this mess.”

“She’d probably just have found a way to come without you,” Esar said.

“At least then you wouldn’t have me holding you back.”

“Ah, but walking at your pace is giving me ample time for reflection. By the time we catch up, I’m sure I will have come up with at least one good reason not to strangle your friend.”

They found Kelsam and Naomi sitting in the grass under a road sign, like they were just taking a little break, no big deal. Naomi muttered an apology to Esar, they took the left fork in the road and continued on their way.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Jason asked. Someone had to call Naomi out for behaving like a brat, and if the grown-ups weren’t going to do it, it was up to him.

Naomi at least had the decency to look embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to run away, exactly. I don’t know . . . I just wanted to run for a little bit. It’s hard not to run. It’s kinda like my power wants me to do it.”

“What else does your power ‘want’ you to do?” Jason asked. “Esar is afraid you’re going to go berserk and kill people.”

“What? No! I didn’t mean it like that. It’s not like there’s something else in me, some voice telling me to do things. It’s just . . . I can run, farther and faster than I ever could before, and I don’t get tired, so I don’t stop.”

“You don’t get tired. Must be nice.”

“Well, it is. But it’s not fair. I won’t do it again.”

The afternoon dragged into evening, and Jason was lagging behind again. Kelsam fell back to walk beside him.

“How are you holding up?” he asked.

“I’m all right,” Jason said. He didn’t want to ask for yet another infusion of energy, not when Kelsam was starting to show signs of fatigue, too. His feet were sore, but he could keep going. “We’re almost there, aren’t we?”

“Just a little farther . . . Esar, how much longer before we reach Tsill?”

Esar made a sound that wasn’t really an answer.

“I can run ahead and see how far we have to go?” Naomi offered.

“Do you even hear yourself?” Jason asked incredulously.

Naomi scowled. “I was trying to be helpful.”

“Stay with us. It can’t be much longer now,” Esar said.

Esar seemed to have a very different idea of what “much longer” meant than Jason did. It was nearly an hour before they got to Tsill. Jason was sure each step would be his last, but he still managed to put one foot in front of the other, again and again. Naomi led the way with her magical flashlight. Kelsam did not look well.

Ever since he’d chased off after Naomi, Kelsam had seemed a little bit off. He didn’t complain, but his pace had slowed, and by the time they sighted the town, he was leaning on Esar for support. And Esar hadn’t said anything for the past half an hour, but that glower on his face had crossed the line from “annoyed” into “vampire” territory some time ago.

“Okay, which way?” Naomi asked. It was like a slap in the face to hear her ask so casually.

“Up there.” Esar pointed to the road that would take them uphill, into a neighborhood of large houses.

“Seriously?” Jason groaned. His legs turned into lead as they climbed that winding cobblestone road. This must be the hill where the rich people lived—or had once lived. Naomi’s light illuminated giant houses with chipping paint, overgrown gardens, even the occasional missing window. The house where they finally stopped—he nearly sobbed in relief—was in better condition than most, with fresh mustard-colored paint and one light shining from a second story window.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Kelsam tapped his hand on a plate beside the door, then tried to open it. It didn’t budge. He slumped, and Esar stepped forward to pound on the door. Footsteps inside, then fumbling with something, and the door opened.

“Kelsam? Esar? What are you doing here?” The woman who’d answered the door carried an incand, which illuminated her puzzled, dark brown face.

“Kels overdid it,” Esar said, stepping over the threshold without waiting for an invitation.

“And that’s why you couldn’t use the lockplate,” the woman sighed. “Come in. It doesn’t explain why you’re here—and who’s this with you?”

“First, water,” Esar said, striding ahead as if he knew the house. Kelsam went in and sat down on the first available chair, leaving Naomi and Jason to exchange a look before entering. Between Naomi’s light and the homeowner’s, the room was pretty well illuminated. Jason made a beeline for the sofa with fancy embroidered cushions; too stiff, he thought, but still a million times better than being on his feet.

“Are you all right?” Naomi asked, peering at Kelsam. His head was bowed in his hands, and his hair soaked with sweat. Esar pushed by her to place a glass of water in his hand.

“Thanks,” Kelsam whispered before taking a few gulps.

“Slow down,” Esar warned him.

“I’m not that far—”

“I don’t trust your stomach.”

“Don’t you know better by now?” The woman who’d let them in stood over Kelsam with her hands on her hips. She had the same curly hair as Kelsam, but with a few strands of gray mixed into the brown. Someone from his family?

“I’ll be fine,” Kelsam said. He took a tiny sip of water. “Is that acceptable?”

“Why did you let him use himself up like that?” the woman asked Esar.

“Because I trusted his judgment and thought he knew better,” Esar retorted, then sighed, placing his hand on Kelsam’s shoulder. “But I shouldn’t have let you be the one to go chasing after Naomi after you’ve been keeping Jason going all day. I’m sorry.”

Kelsam leaned against Esar, eyes closed. “It wasn’t that. Well, it wasn’t just that. I’m sorry we didn’t warn you we were coming, Styca . . .”

“Don’t start apologizing,” Styca admonished him. “Let him do the talking. What are you doing here, Esar? Did you walk all the way from Norana? And who are they?”

Esar introduced Jason and Naomi as “students” without further explanation. “This is Kelsam’s sister, Styca. Is Cormair around here somewhere?”

“He was up in Bulrisa when the event happened. I haven’t heard anything from him or the girls yet, but . . . I’m sure they’re all right. What’s going on, Esar?”

“We’re on our way to Thaliron. I thought we’d be able to follow the spine all the way, but after the way today went, I think we’d better find a different route. Where’d you put the map, Kels? Never mind. I’ll find it.” He was already rooting around in Kelsam’s pack.

“That doesn’t explain anything,” Styca said.

“Welcome to my world,” Kelsam said softly.

“Something went wrong when that boy went into the Ocean yesterday,” Esar said. He pulled the rolled-up map out of the backpack and flattened it out on a table near Jason. “I don’t know just what, exactly. That’s why we’re going to Thaliron.”

Styca seemed to give up on Esar at that point and directed her questions to her brother instead. Jason leaned over to examine the map. He couldn’t read any of the words on it, but he could interpret the drawings well enough. The path that they’d planned to take—following the track of the linecar—stretched straight up the middle of the continent.

“If we head northwest, we can hire a ship in Chacry to take us to Bulrisa,” Esar said, pointing first to a spot at the southern end of a large lake, then dragging his finger through the lake and up a river to another point, where the river emptied into a large bay.

“Why do we have to go all the way over there? Wouldn’t it be quicker to cut through here?” Jason pointed to another, more direct route that would take them to another point on the lake that looked like a city.

“See that yellow line, Jason? That’s the boundary of an Asprai enclave.” Esar traced a large shape between their current location and the shore of the lake. Now Jason realized that there were no markings inside that line, and the linecar track even curved to avoid it. A couple of other areas on the map were marked out in yellow as well.

“A what?” Naomi asked, peeking around at the map.

“It means we can’t go through that area,” Esar said.

“Why not?”

Esar looked up at the ceiling and mouthed something before he answered her in a patronizing tone. “Because there is a big wall of golden mist in the way, and nobody can go through it.”

Naomi’s eyes widened. “That’s weird.”

Esar turned to Styca. “I think Jason and Kelsam could use a day of rest tomorrow, if we may impose on you.”

“I’ll be all right after a good night’s sleep—”

“You’re not going anywhere tomorrow,” Styca said. “You’d think that by the age of forty a man would learn his limits.”

“I haven’t depleted myself in twenty years! I just didn’t realize how much it was going to take out of me . . .” Kelsam drifted off, looking from his sister to Esar. There seemed to be something unsaid in the glance he exchanged with his husband. “Never mind. I’ll rest.”

“And while they’re resting, Naomi, you and I will head over here.” Esar pointed to another spot on the map, not far northeast of their current location.

“Ooh, what’s that?” Naomi asked.

“You’ll see tomorrow,” Esar said. “Right now, I am also in need of a rest.”

“There’s fresh bedding in the guest room already,” Styca said. “Are those two going to want separate beds, or—”

“Yes!” Jason interrupted her firmly.

“Yes, please,” Naomi said at the same time.

Styca sighed. “Why don’t you take Kels up then, and I’ll see if I can get the girls’ old rooms ready for those two.”

The Elorhans departed, leaving Naomi and Jason alone in the living room. Naomi strolled around, examining everything, the tables and pictures and furniture.

“This place is nice,” she said.

Jason didn’t reply. He only meant to close his eyes for a moment, but the next thing he knew, Styca was back to take them to their rooms.