Maia and the Xifarian Conspiracy (The Lightbound Saga Book 1) (20 page)

Miir nodded. “Correct. These objects could be anything—objects like you have seen at the TEK Club tryouts. Or it could be something invisible, like the medium that surrounds us. Its strongest manifestation is in the Tierremorphes, and it gives them a psychic control over the terrain.”

“You mean Tierremorphes are simply TEKists, but super powerful ones?” Maia asked.

Miir nodded and went on to explain more. “A TEK wave can assume a multitude of forms, ranging from planar waves to complicated multi-plane formations.”

“Planar?”

“Yes, planar as in a single plane—either horizontal or vertical. A TEK wave can be of any shape, size, or form, limited only by your imagination and your skills. If you have the ability to sense a wave, you may be able to feel its heat, see flashes of light, or hear its sound.”

Miir paused and directed her toward the rim. “Get back to that end and try hard to focus on the space between us.”

Maia tried to concentrate, but it was difficult. Her mind was swamped with questions. Across from her, Miir stretched his arm and flicked the air in front of him with his fingers.

Nothing happened. There was no rush of heat, no flash of light, no sound in her mind—nothing. Maia was just about to say something when it hit like a fleck of sand on her forehead, clear and precise. It was a jolting sensation, the rush of invisible ripples passing through her and spreading all around.

Miir looked curious, nearly smiling when he broke the silence. “That was a very tiny ripple. Were you able to see it or feel it before it hit you?”

“No.” Maia shook her head.

“Let us try some larger ones now. Again, focus and be ready to dodge as necessary.”

This time, Maia felt the softest rush through the air when Miir pushed his palm out in her direction. There was an indistinct bend in the space in front of her as the particles folded like a whip and lashed out. She had barely lifted one foot to dodge the tip of the whip when it hit her squarely in the gut. She felt her feet leave the ground and gasped as her back slammed against the wall of the ring. Then the wave died abruptly, leaving her breathless from the impact.

Miir quickly strode up to her, a faint shadow of worry darkening his face. “Is that the fastest you can move?” His observation was cynical as usual.

“I’m all right,” Maia croaked as she scrambled to her feet, ready for more. She was determined not to waste a single moment of this rare opportunity.

Over the next hour or so, Miir displayed a series of waves—formations with arrows, whips, bullets, waves, twisters, hail. Miir talked about strategies for attacks and counter-attacks using the various forms, and he showed evasion tactics that Maia practiced with reasonable success. After all that, even as she felt spent, she yearned to see more.

“Can you control a wave once it’s already in motion?”

“Yes. That is quite advanced telekinetics,” his reply came at a sluggish pace. Maia noticed how tired he looked—his face gaunt and paler than usual, his shoulders a little slumped.

“Can you show me?” Maia asked, ignoring the fledgling thought of concern for him.

Even before she had finished her question, a vertical wave came sweeping at her. Maia could see the forms much clearer now. She waited until it was close and moved swiftly to the left. An explosion of light and heat engulfed her, sending her teetering to the ground. Miir had waited for her to move away, and then nudged the wave to follow her.

They continued a little longer as he displayed a few more patterns that were suitable for widespread offense. Maia was particularly awestruck by a vicious “avalanche” formation where an endless series of gigantic waves crested and toppled in a massive, manic rush. Thankfully, she was not asked to evade these, but just observe.

“That was amazing! It must take a lot of practice to learn these,” she said after the avalanche had died down.

Miir did not reply. He stood quietly at the opposite end of the ring, his hand on the neurogenic interface over his eye.

“Are you okay?” Maia asked, troubled by his posture as she stepped forward to take a closer look at his face.

“I am fine,” he replied gruffly. “It must be the virus I caught last week.”

“You were not well, I knew it.” Maia grinned.

Miir raised an eyebrow when he saw her wide smile.

“Well, you see, I thought you canceled the mentor meet last week due to the argument we had. So I was feeling bad because everyone else was missing out on training because of me. But you were just unwell, and I don’t need to feel so bad,” Maia explained, still smiling. Then she hurried to add an apology. “But . . . but I’m still sorry about what I said the other night. And sorry that you were sick.”

Miir looked confused as he shook his head, clearly failing to appreciate her relief. “It is very late. We need to leave now,” he said and picked up his weapons case.

“So, all I can do is evading? Or will I be able to move things around too?” Maia asked as they walked to the elevator. This was getting very interesting; suddenly, the world was full of possibilities.

“It is very unusual for one of your kind to even perceive a telekinetic wave. I would not expect too much.” Miir’s directness dashed her upbeat thoughts to the ground.

The elevator came to a stop, and they walked toward the Hall of Spires.

“Will you teach me more?” Maia asked, trying to cling on to the last shred of hope.

“Absolutely not,” he said with such cold vehemence that Maia shrunk back. “By Xifarian law, I am not allowed to demonstrate telekinetic powers to persons of non-Xifarian origin except in self-defense. I showed you this only because I was personally requested by the principal.”

He left her facing the shadowy Hall of Spires. Maia stared blankly at the dark stretch ahead. A cavernous emptiness enveloped her insides like a swift-moving flood.

33: Plots and Plans

The Hall of Spires always made Maia uneasy in an odd sort of way. Even during the day, when the place was lit, albeit dimly—with the light filtering in from the ventilators on the roof—she felt ill at ease. There was something about this place, some ancient secret that drained her spirit. And now in the middle of the night, bathed in the eerie green light streaming down from the distant ceiling, she stood alone on its brink, waiting to muster enough courage to step forward.

Maia considered her options. She could always run after Miir; surely he would not ignore a desperate plea for help. Then again, he could very well say no. In that case, she would not only have to cross the hall alone, but this would become yet another subject of ridicule. That was definitely not acceptable, she decided. With no other way in sight, she took her first step into the intimidating darkness.

Maia knew a staggering 102 spires separated her from the door leading out to the WT4. She strode ahead, grazing along the columns, skirting their cold smooth bulk, stepping gingerly past their thick shadows, counting them as she passed. She was up to fifty when she realized how hopelessly lost she was. Following Ren blindly through the hall without paying the least bit of attention had finally caught up with her. She stood still for a while, trying to understand her location among the towering columns, feeling small and bewildered. After standing there for what felt like an eternity, she had an idea—she could just follow the walls until she reached her exit.

She walked toward her left, hoping to reach the wall soon. She had barely taken a few steps when she heard the low rustle of cloth on stone and the sound of light footsteps heading her way. Maia froze in her tracks as fear gripped her heart.

Who would be out here so late at night?

She scanned the shadows intently, looking for the source of the noise until she noticed a pair of dark wraith-like figures. They walked fast along the dimness and in the direction Maia was headed.

It’s silly to even think there could be ghosts.

Maia wondered if someone was playing a trick on her, or if some students of the XDA were having a masquerade party and these two chose to don dark hooded cloaks. Whatever it was, she intended to avoid them; she had had more than enough excitement in the past few days. She decided to wait and let them pass. When the footfalls faded, she took off her shoes, tucked them under her belt, and tiptoed forward.

Maia had not taken another fifty steps when she came across them again. The duo had paused at the threshold of an open door, and one of them turned around to check behind him before stepping inside. Maia just about screamed when she caught a glimpse of what lay under the hood. Shining through the darkness was a chalk-white face on which a pair of oversized lips twisted into a grotesque smile. She stood there, her back to the column, hands clamped on her mouth lest she should shout. Then she realized they were wearing masks.

She forced herself to breathe in a lungful of cold air, letting it out slowly. And again. And again. It helped. Her heart beat a little slower, her fingers felt a bit less cold. She spent a few more moments recovering, and then stepped forward. The door was ajar. The flickering light of a fire that burned inside caught Maia’s eye as she quickly stepped past the opening, avoiding looking in. Once beyond the door, she placed herself flat against the wall and let out a small sigh of relief. She had readied herself for a sprint when a high-pitched distorted voice reached her ears.

“The key . . . we finally have it. We are one step closer to our goal. The wiggling snakes have been scheming, but now we shall teach them a lesson they will never forget.”

Maia turned toward the open door, suddenly alert at the mention of the “key.” She wondered if this had anything to do with the lost Chrysocolla key. For the briefest moment she hesitated, then crept closer to the partly open door.

“And is there any news from Tansi, Sir Uuye?” asked another man.

“None too promising,” screeched the first voice.

Another voice rose, a woman’s, speaking in an agitated rush. “We have been tied to this system for too long. If we do not put the Capsule back together soon, we will be found and—”

A man, his tone soft but decisive, cut her off mid-sentence. “I expected a little more patience, more so from you given the history of your family.

“This is a difficult quest—the Afterlight is benign and hard to trace, such is their nature. By now, they have all but fused with the spirits of their keepers. But we cannot give up, we shall not give up. Now that we have the key and an illustrious new commander to lead us in this hunt, there is much to hope for. Please have some faith.”

“You misunderstand me,” the woman rushed to defend, the hint of a tremble rippling through her once-stoic voice. “I have never doubted the strength of our Order. I realize the difficulty, but it pains me to see the children of our enemies swarming all over this academy. Can you remember how it all started? It was because we had invited them into our world twenty years ago. It was because we had opened our gates and let the filth in. Look where it got us—we are broken and stuck, our future hopeless.”

“Shh,” the soft-voiced man spoke again. The reproachful sting in his tone had now disappeared, and instead his words cascaded gently around, flowing like a warm, healing balm. “I feel your anguish, but the Initiative was a necessary step. We need admittance to their territories—to seek, search, and retrieve the items we have lost. And what better way to make them let their guard down? They could not refuse this offer to promote peace, could they?”

A tenuous, brief silence fell, to be promptly broken by Sir Uuye’s high-pitched prodding.

“Moving on to current matters, we shall dispense with our prize on Carnival night. No one will notice a few missing guards while we decouple the Stabilator and walk out of the Grotto.”

Maia’s heart skipped a few beats at the mention of the Stabilator. She had long lost the ability to grasp the meaning of every word that streamed into her ears and paraded relentlessly through her tired and nervous mind. But this she clearly understood; no good could come out of this diabolical plan to decouple the Stabilator.

“The final time will be communicated to you next week,” the soft voice sounded again, then stopped abruptly. “Why is that door open?” he snarled.

Maia gulped as she realized she did not have much time before a masked figure would come to the door. Quietly trembling with a sudden wave of exhaustion and dread, she tiptoed about twenty paces into the darkness before breaking into a determined dash along the wall. She did not look back until she found the door out of the hall, ran through the darkened corridors, and into the safety of her own room.

34: The Next Day

Maia had no recollection of when she had fallen asleep. The excitement of the whole day had acted like a sleep draught, and when she woke up the next morning, she found herself curled up on an unmade bed in her day clothes. She felt exhausted, like she had not slept at all. Her body ached so badly that she could hardly move. And she was late for breakfast.

Memories of the night before came soon and swift. Maia dressed as fast as she could, eager to meet her teammates and tell them all about the previous evening. Wide smiles greeted her at the dining bay.

“We were worried about you. We knocked on your door a few times, but you didn’t reply,” Dani said, rushing to hug Maia. “We were just about to check on you again.”

“How long were you up there last night?” Ren asked, leaning forward across the table.

“And the real question is, what did you do?” queried Nafi, squinting.

“I need to talk to you about it,” Maia replied as she grabbed a box of food and sat down. “But first, we need to find a safe place to talk.”

“Did he tell you some state secrets?” whispered Nafi.

“What?” Maia asked, startled at the question. “Oh, Miir? No, it’s not about him. Well, I’ll tell you about him, too. But this is something else, and it’s strange and scary.”

An eager hush fell over the table.

Dani sighed. “Please tell me that this has nothing to do with the lost key,” she whispered in a shaky voice.

“Honestly, I’m not sure,” replied Maia, gulping down a mouthful of bread and a fruity spread that tasted a little too sweet. “That’s what we need to figure out, so we need to find a place where no one will be able to eavesdrop.”

All eyes turned from Maia to Ren, who scratched his head, looked at the ceiling, rubbed his nose, and stared at his meal tray. Nafi then punched him hard in the arm.

“Owwww, what did you do that for?” said Ren, massaging his arm tenderly.

“You claim to know this place like the back of your hand. You take us via scenic routes and get us into trouble. You also take us through corridors where we don’t need to go and make us late for our sessions.” Nafi paused, taking time to cross her arms and glare. “And now you can’t come up with a safe place to talk? And yet, you ask why I hit you?”

“Okay, fine. I know a place, but if the roof collapses on you, it’s all her fault,” Ren said, pointing at Nafi.

He led them across the inner fields and through the maze of the fountains into the Western Annex of the XDA. The overgrown bushes here clamored for some tending, and the wing of the building looked shabby and in urgent need of maintenance. Ren glanced around quickly, then opened a rickety gray door and slipped in.

“Get in, and hurry,” he said. “We’re not allowed in here. This building is condemned.”

“You mean the roof could really fall on us?” Kusha asked, poking the walls.

“I mean the whole building could fall on us,” said Ren, dragging Kusha away from the wall. “This used to be the old dormitory. You know, when students didn’t have personal rooms. My mom lived here when she was a student about twenty years ago. They plan to demolish this place and build the new recreation center here.”

“The ‘new’ recreation center?” Nafi’s eyes widened. “Can someone tell me where the ‘old’ one is? I don’t remember seeing it.”

“Well, recreation rooms are for the students only, not visitors,” Ren explained.

“Ah yes, the privileged.” Nafi turned up an indignant nose.

After they sat down in a circle on the floor, Maia told them of her TEK training, fervently hoping that no one would ask why Miir took a special session for her. She was not looking forward to lying to her friends.

“You can see TEK waves?” Ren broke the shocked silence that hung in the air, the look in his eyes mirroring the astonishment in his voice.

Maia nodded slowly, guilt surging inside her. It was unfair that she could see them while Ren could not, even though he wanted to so badly. If she could, she would gladly give her seeing powers to him.

“I think that’s the most I can do, though,” she added, hoping to help lift his spirits. “That’s what our respected counselor told me.”

“You should try to do more practice. I’ll show you some techniques that could help unblock your sensory centers.”

“Thanks, Ren.” Maia smiled. Though she did not care too much if she learned telekinetics or not, his generous offer made her happy. She was also fidgeting inside; the more they lingered on this discussion, the more awkward she felt about hiding her being a Shimugien.

“You seem worried, Maia.” Kusha was staring intently at her face.

As everybody turned to look, Maia sighed. She was happy that the subject of TEK would now be dropped, but the next topic was not going to make for a happy conversation. Dani would start to worry even more, and Maia was hesitant to tell everything.

What was that the woman had called them? Filth?

A dull ache throbbed in Maia’s chest.

It will break their hearts if they know.

Maia broached the subject carefully, telling them only about the meeting and the plans she had overheard about the Stabilator.

“Seems like a secret society,” said Ren.

“They talked about the Stabilator, and the key that they have recently acquired. Obviously the same key then?” Dani’s voice was taut with anxiety.

“Yes, possibly,” said Kusha, sprawling on the floor, rubbing his chin as he thought. “But whatever they do, it won’t be before the Carnival. When is that, Ren?”

“A month from now,” Ren explained. “It’s a day to commemorate our First Passage. We celebrate the beginning of Xif’s nomadic ways, our freedom from planetary ties. There are huge congregations in the cities, and the biggest one is in Armezai, our capital.”

“We have a month,” Kusha sounded a little relieved. “At least some time to figure out what we should do.”

“Who would know where the Stabilator is located?” asked Dani. “It must be classified information, right?”

“Yes, even if anyone knows, they’re not going to tell us,” Nafi quipped. “And please tell me, no one here is going to start asking people about the Stabilator.”

“Wait, they also mentioned a grotto,” Maia exclaimed, suddenly remembering more of the conversation.

“Ren, is a grotto a common thing on Xif?” Kusha asked, sitting up straight.

“A grotto? There used to be an ancient one at the Star Sanctuary in Armezai, the most sacred place on Xif,” Ren replied.

“And that’s the only one?”