Colton Cyness and the Gunslingers (Children of the Empire Book 1) Page 15

  Colt sat up and saw Garth on the other side of the field dragging Wes and Austin back.

  “This is getting annoying,” said Colt.

  Toran stood and held his hand out to help Colt up. The boys met back at the path and stood in a circle.

  “If it’s a chemical, where’s it coming from?” asked Wes.

  “It could be a canister hidden anywhere under all this snow,” said Toran.

  “We go around?” asked Colt.

  “There could be more than one canister, maybe it’s set up like a minefield,” replied Toran.

  “But why are only three of us being affected?”

  “Because the three of us are Corvian,” said Austin, staring off at the tree-line.

  “A species-based chemical weapon?” asked Colt. “But why?”

  “Think about it,” replied Austin. “The Kesune have never been able to invade the Daemi tunnels. Why? And why hasn’t anyone ever asked that question before?”

  “Oh my gosh, the Daemi have a weapon to keep the Kesune out of their tunnels,” said Colt. “And the three of us are Kesune descendants.”

  Austin turned around, grinning like a cat that just ate a mouse. “It’s way more, and I just figured out why the teams are as they are.”

  “What do you mean, like what?” asked Toran.

  “Except for the Daemi team, every team here is mixed species. They mix us up on purpose. If they send us to an ocean world, Toran is an amphibian, he can keep us alive. If we drop on a jungle world, Garth knows what to do and can protect us. On a desert world, Toran is pretty useless, but then it’s our turn to keep him alive.”

  “You mean like on the Long Walk,” said Wes. “But I was messed up too, I’m from the mountains.”

  “True, but the rest of us were able to pull you two through,” said Austin. “We’re strong because we’re mixed species, and even the three of us of the same species are mixed up. I’m from the city, Colt is from the prairies and Wes from the mountains.”

  “I suspected from the very beginning our team was carefully planned out,” said Colt. “I just didn’t realize how well planned.”

  “Okay, so we’re up against a Daemi weapon,” said Toran. “Only Garth and I are immune. How do we get past it without you three running off?”

  “We don’t,” said Austin, grinning. “I feel so dumb for not seeing it from the start. I read the directions wrong.”

  “You want to fill us in?” asked Colt.

  “Why was Brock’s team coming out of the woods instead of on the path? We follow their trail, that’s the way to the tunnel.”

  Colt smacked his forehead for not seeing the obvious. “Well done.”

  “Let’s move out,” said Colt.

  The boys back-tracked to the place they had met Brock’s team and followed their tracks. The tracks remained together until they reached an open meadow, then the tracks meandered around in a dazed pattern.

  “They got hit with the weapon here,” said Colt, stopping.

  “Look at the direction of the tracks,” said Garth. “They got hit leaving the tunnels.”

  “The chemical messes with our memories,” said Colt. “Deputy Fatal doesn’t want us to remember anything.”

  “What’s the point of that?” asked Wes.

  “Muscle memory,” replied Garth. “We’ll remember when we need whatever it is he’s teaching.”

  Colt backed up until he was next to Austin and whispered. “Remember what I said about writing everything down.”

  Austin patted the pocket he kept the notebook in and nodded.

  Colt followed the tracks and stepped out of the woods and back onto the path. First Deputy Fatal was waiting at the entrance to a cave in the side of a hill.

  “Well done, boys,” said Deputy Fatal. “Are you ready to begin?”

  "Yes, Sir," said Colt.

  Colt's feet were cold. He was burning. The flames. He had to go home. Where was home? Colt stared, unseeing, his face blank, and a sharp pain stabbed at his temples. Someone stepped in front of Colt, but he couldn't understand who was there. The stranger held a twig up in front of Colt's eyes.

  "Focus on the stick, the flames are no longer burning, you must go home," said the stranger, then took Colt's arm and led him to a place where someone else was standing. The world slowly started to come back into focus. Toran was standing next to him, staring at a twig he held in his hand. They were in the middle of a meadow. The other three Merits were standing behind Toran and staring at twigs they held.

  Colt's head started clearing. He dropped the twig on the ground.

  "Come on guys," said Colt. "Nobody is showing up, let's go."

  Colt's team trudged through the woods, his headache nearly gone.

  "Hey look," said Austin. "It's Duke's team."

  Colt looked up and saw Duke's team walking on a path. Colt veered out of the woods and greeted Duke.

  "Hey guys, what are you doing here?" asked Colt.

  "It's our turn for tunnel training, even we have a version of this to go through," said Duke, an expression on his face Colt couldn't quite make out. It was almost as if he were trying to apologize for something.

  "Huh," said Colt. "You guys don't have tunnel training until next week."

  Duke laid his hand on Colt's shoulder and spoke slowly and carefully.

  "I’ve seen this before. Go back to your cabin, brother, and sleep it off," said Duke

  "Seen what before?" asked Colt.

  Duke shook his head and wouldn't say anything else. He took his team and left the path, heading the direction Colt had just come from.

  "Why were they following us?" asked Wes.

  "Come on guys," said Colt. "We have to go home now. It's too hot out here."

  "Yes," said Toran. "We have to go home."

  They didn't pass anyone else on the path, crossed over the bridge, and arrived at the cabin quickly. Colt pushed the door open and went to stand next to the fireplace.

  "Hey Wes, I thought you banked the fire,"

  "I did," said Wes, walking over to look at the fireplace. The fire had burned down to ash. "Maybe I forgot." Wes laid his hand on the cold hearth.

  "What's the schedule say?" asked Toran.

  "There’s food on the table over here," said Garth.

  "There's a note," said Austin, picking the note up and reading it out loud. ‘Eat the food provided and go to bed, signed, Marshall’.” Austin grinned and threw the note back on the table. “Hey Garth, the Marshal doesn’t spell any better than you do.”

  "We get a free day?” asked Wes.

  "Good, I feel exhausted," said Toran.

  Austin went over to check the schedule on the Vid-screen. "Come here, look at the date."

  Colt walked over and looked. "That can't be right," said Colt. "That's a week from now."

  "This is just getting weirder," said Toran.

  The boys were just finishing their meal when the front door opened, and the Marshal, First Deputy Fatal, and four of the senior deputy teachers stormed into the cabin. The boys stood up at this unexpected intrusion. No teacher had ever come to their cabin before.

  "Boys, put your hands where I can see them," ordered the Marshal."

  Colt raised his hands, confused. "Sir, are we under arrest?" asked Colt. "What did we do?"

  "You are not under arrest," said the Marshal, smiling, but with a serious bearing.

  Deputy Fatal held a pencil up for the boys to see. "Who does this belong to?" asked Fatal. He didn't smile, and his face was angry.

  Austin's hand flicked to his pocket before he had a chance to think it through. Fatal immediately went over to stand in front of Austin.

  "Put your hands out to your sides," ordered Fatal.

  Austin complied, and Fatal began frisking the confused boy. Garth lost his temper, shoved the table out of the way, and started for the deputy. The Marshal blocked Garth's path and grabbed him. Garth put all his strength into his next move and shoved the Marshal. The Marshal staggered back und
er the surprising strength of the boy.

  Colt leaped forward and grabbed Garth.

  "No, Garth," cried Colt. "Stop."

  "Sir, unless you have a warrant," said Wes. "This is an illegal search."

  The sound of a gun's hammer being pulled back froze everyone in place. Four more gun hammers cocked. Toran had drawn his gun and was pointing it at Fatal, and the four senior teachers were aiming their guns at Toran.

  "Let him go," ordered Toran.

  Fatal ignored Toran, reached into Austin's pocket, and pulled out a notebook. Fatal flipped the notebook open and scanned a few pages.

  "Marshal, I have it."

  "Colt,” said the Marshal. "Have I always treated you fairly?"

  "I'm not so sure Tanner was treated fairly, Sir," said Colt.

  "You have no idea what you nearly did with that notebook," said the Marshal. "You need to trust me."

  "Why should I?" asked Colt. He wasn't going to let sentiment sway him, but instead, he calculated the odds of survival. The Marshal's team had six and Colt's team had five. Austin was too close to Fatal, and would never get a shot off. Colt could drop two before he went down, Toran would get one before he dropped, and Wes might get one before he too was shot. That left two on the Marshal's team versus Garth, and Garth was angry and not thinking straight, but Garth was big and might get one before he went down. There would be one left standing on the Marshal's team, and Colt's team would be dead.

  "Guys," said Colt. "Stand down. We surrender."

  "Colt, I'm not your enemy," said the Marshal. "This is for your own good, and the good of many others."

  Fatal shoved Austin’s notebook in his pocket and walked back to the door.

  "Get some sleep, boys," said the Marshal. "We can talk later."

  The Marshal retreated to the door, and the senior teachers followed him out of the cabin, closing the door behind them. Colt walked over to the window and watched the Gunslingers walking back toward the camp.

  "You did the right thing, Colt," said Toran. "I calculated the odds too, we wouldn't have made it."

  Colt was silent for a moment and kept watching out the window. He finally spoke without turning around.

  "Austin, don’t let them see you, but follow them and find out where they take that notebook." Colt turned around to face his Merits. "Toran, I want a plan to steal back the notebook, and Wes, you're our legal specialist, find me a law making it legal for me to steal it back."

  "What about me, Chief?" asked Garth.

  "You work with Toran on the plan, and then steal whatever supplies we need to pull this off," said Colt. "I want to know what happened to us today, and what's in that notebook."

  Austin ran from tree to tree following the Marshal and Deputy Fatal. The Marshal and Deputies were talking among themselves as they walked.

  Austin cut across the path and slid down the bank to the rocky shore along the frozen river. He was hidden by the bank of the river now and sprinted for the footbridge.

  The sound of the Marshal and the Deputy talking as they walked along the path could be heard off to his right. He had made it ahead of them. He crouched low and ran for the bridge.

  Austin had just dived under the bridge when he heard footsteps above him, then stop. He could see the Marshal and Deputy Fatal through the cracks in the wooden planks. The other deputies must have continued to camp. He pressed himself deeper into the shadows under the bridge.

  "We got lucky this time," said Deputy Fatal. "If this notebook had gotten out of the camp, all would be lost."

  "I think you are over-reacting," said the Marshal. "There is no way for any student to leave the camp."

  "Would you risk the lives of all Daemi on that?" asked Fatal.

  "I do not believe there is a risk," said the Marshal. "Your people are alienating the one Order that could make the difference in the war against the Caelum."

  "We have given the Order the secret of the tunnels," protested Fatal.

  "You give us the training and then suppress our memories of it to the point that we can't use it," argued the Marshal.

  "The secret is embedded in your subconscious," said Fatal.

  "When you're being shot at, performing Daemi relaxation exercises is not a practical method. There is a reason Gunslinger Teams refuse to work on Daemi. We have no practical way to pursue the subject, or seek refuge."

  "We can't risk discovery of the secret."

  "You will find yourselves alone."

  "We have always been alone.”

  "They will use nuclear weapons eventually. I'm only surprised they haven't yet."

  Fatal sighed and stomped his feet. The snow and cold weather were hard on him. Fatal held the notebook up and looked at it.

  "No student has ever done this before," said Fatal. "That boy is dangerous."

  "I've said it before. Colton Cyness will always be difficult to control, but we need a new Marshal General, and he may be our best candidate."

  "You give that boy too much credit," said Fatal. "Do you still insist on choosing only from the students?"

  "Yes, we need a Gunslinger not yet set in their ways," replied the Marshal. "I've gathered the very best candidates I could find into this class."

  "Are you considering the Merits as well?" asked Fatal.

  "Yes, I am. Toran'Sar is the grandson of Ryota'Sar, and Garth is the great-grandson of Konsu of Gala. Gideon was the nephew of Prince Destroyer, and Ella is a descendant of General Tamaksu."

  "All fine pedigrees," agreed Fatal. “Although, the Dragon's eye may bring to light those hidden in the shadows. I saw a photo of a slave boy I believe was you before being elevated to greatness."

  The Marshal sighed, Fatal would never stop pressing for ancient secrets he didn’t need to know. "I will take another look at the other Merits."

  "Colt mentioned a Tanner," said Fatal. "Who is that?"

  "I had to remove a student for cowardice."

  "It is always difficult to do that," said Fatal.

  "I need to get back to the tunnels. Duke's team is in there right now, but first we need to take care of our spy."

  "Don't hurt him," ordered the Marshal, and placed his hands over his ears and hummed.

  Fatal tapped his foot on the bridge three times.

  "The flames are burning, you have to go home," said Fatal.

  Austin crawled out from under the bridge, a blank stare on his face. "The flames are burning. I have to go home," repeated Austin in a flat dead voice. He climbed the bank of the river and headed up the path toward his cabin.

  The Marshal dropped his hands and watched Austin walking away.

  "I always thought that was humorous when I saw it done to a Caelum patrol that tried to enter a tunnel, but it's not so funny when I see it done to one of my students."

  "You are too easy on them, Marshal. Events are moving quickly now; we need soldiers."

  "I am aware," said the Marshal.

  The Marshal waited until Fatal was out of sight and rushed off to intercept Austin, his thoughts on all the tasks yet to do. The Gunslingers had been preparing for over three hundred years, following the plan of Jon Black and building an elite force under the very nose of the Caelum. Jon Black's Gunslinger army was spread out among all the worlds, under the pretense of being law enforcement, so as not to attract attention.

  The Marshal caught up with Austin before he reached his cabin, and grabbed him by the shoulder. Austin stopped, his eyes a blank slate. He was in a catatonic state that would take hours to come out of without help.

  The Marshal picked up a stick, put it in Austin's hand, and pushed it in front of his eyes.

  "Focus on the stick," said the Marshal, whispering into the boy's ear. "The flames are gone. You must go home."

  The Marshal whispered a last instruction and released the boy and hurried off. Austin walked to the cabin, and opened the door, stopping just inside, still staring at the stick.

  "You're back already?" asked Colt. "Did you find out where the notebook
is being kept?"

  Austin only stared at the stick. The boys rushed over; they could see something was wrong.

  "What's wrong with him?" asked Garth.

  Wes waved his hands in front of Austin's face, but Austin only kept staring at the stick. Colt looked closely at his Merit. Austin's face was blank, his eyes focusing on the stick he held.

  "He got caught. What did they do to him?" asked Toran.

  "I know what's wrong," said Colt, his face angry and his eyes growing dark. "They do it at the Caelum Temple to bad kids. This is how they look when they come out of the Temple."

  "Was this ever done to you?" asked Garth.

  "Yes, I did something real bad once. The Caelum priests came and got me," said Colt. "I was messed up afterward and thought Pa was my enemy."

  "Your father just let them take you?" asked Toran.

  "He didn't have a choice."

  "How did he fix you?"

  "Pa took me camping for three weeks," explained Colt. "I thought Pa was trying to hurt me, and I fought him, but eventually he got through to me."

  "Are the Caelum really that bad?" asked Toran.

  "They are," replied Colt. "Pa said the Cettise were tough but never did that to their kids."

  "The Caelum do far worse than a little brainwashing," said Garth. "They are evil bastards." Colt glanced at Garth; there was a haunted look in Garth's eyes.

  "Maybe the Cettise will take back the Imperial Throne someday," said Toran.

  "Not likely," replied Wes. "The Fox Emperor was killed three hundred years ago."

  Colt thought back to what he remembered from his history lessons with Pa. The boy emperor had only sat the throne for a few hours after the Fox Emperor had been killed during a revolt led by Lord Caenus, ending the Cettise Dynasty. Lord Caenus seized the throne, killed the boy emperor, and later became known as the Wolf Emperor. Colt thought of the Lieutenant that had boarded their transport ship on the way to the Academy. His name had been Fox. Colt thought it odd that a Caelum would have that name—it just wasn't a Caelum name.

  "Find Jon Black," whispered Austin, interrupting Colt's thoughts. Austin's eyes cleared, and he dropped the stick and looked around at his team. "Umm, guys... What's going on?" asked Austin.