Renegade Rising (The Renegade Series) (13 page)

“You actually memorized textbooks? Wow! You nerd,” he gibed. Rolce looked at him with an aura of utmost calm.

“Just because you have a dog's name doesn’t mean you should score like one,” Rolce said. Gisbo cocked his brow in surprise.

“And what are you getting at, pal?” Gisbo asked, defensive.

“Oh nothing, I just remember seeing the last math exam postings and a boy with your very name was at the bottom of the list. What was your grade again?” Rolce said.

“I got a 7!” Gisbo said, quite proudly, folding his arms with a smile.

“Out of 100? You got 5 free points just for putting your name down! No one, and I repeat, no one can be that stupid,” Rolce stated, dumbfounded.

“Textbooks are stupid and studying is stupid. Doesn’t mean you're dumb if you get low marks, it just means . . .” Gisbo paused, deep in thought, trying to come up with something to say.

“Yeah, way to prove my point,” Rolce said, laughing. Gisbo frowned.

“Hang on, it’s coming . . . it just means, I’m a Renegade!” Gisbo said, smacking a fist across his chest. Falcon sighed.

“The path to stupidity is never a Renegade's path. There are far too many thorns and briars,” Falcon said.

“Yes, but plenty of blackberries!” Gisbo chimed in. Rolce just shook his head and stared slack jawed.

“Heh, well put, my friend. Renegade Perry will enjoy having you in his philosophy classes. Well! Let us be off! It's not as though you have much to bring either, Gisbo, so let's cut to the chase,” Falcon said.

“We don’t have any food; I mean, we gotta pack something. How long is it going to take us to walk?” Rolce asked. Falcon looked as if he were estimating.

“To walk? Ohhh . . . I’d say about a week, possibly shorter if we run the whole way and don’t sleep or eat, of course,” Falcon said, in an assuring tone.

“How is that possible? Hell, it doesn’t even look like you brought a pack with you! Did you really run all the way here without sleeping or eating?” Gisbo asked. Rolce wondered the same thing, but didn’t want to sound dumb. Gisbo the impulsive
would
ask first.

“Boys, for two so smart, I’m astonished that you haven’t caught on to my humor yet. Of course I came here without eating or sleeping,” Falcon replied evasively.

“But that’s impossible!” Gisbo refuted.

“Ah, but who said anything about walking?” Falcon added.

“You did!” Gisbo argued.

Falcon ignored him as he unsheathed his sword and tossed it to the ground. Rolce and Gisbo stared on, puzzled. Falcon nimbly hopped atop the blade, stretching out his right foot to meet the tip of the sword and placed his left foot just above the hilt. He then pointed his ring downward toward the hilt-stone and instantaneously a rope of beaming energy stretched out and connected with the blade, igniting it immediately. With a more controlled roar, the blade began to pulse with power from its underside and before long, Falcon began to rise into the air and do what could only be described as flying.

Rolce and Gisbo watched on amazed as Falcon shot into the sky, leaving a fiery streak behind him and using his ring to steer the agile blade. When he swung his fist, the sword obeyed immediately, following its every motion with great precision. Demonstration now completed, Falcon landed with a loud WOOSH in front of the boys, spraying up a cloud of dust.

“Nothing like a bit of skeeting! Only way to travel in my opinion. Now come on boys, Heaven’s Shelter awaits our arrival! And believe me, many more surprises are in store for the likes of you two!” Falcon shouted over the roar of his blade. Before Gisbo could ask how they were supposed to fly, Falcon took the initiative.

The Renegade lifted his cape upward, revealing two red gleaming pieces of metal attached to his back. He removed them from their straps and threw them on the ground, one on each side of him. Swords they weren’t, but rather they were two rectangular sheets of thick metal with two half-ring cups on either side.

“Well, you two can’t release your essence yet, but don't worry, these will do. Go on, try 'em on; beginner skeets, perfect for training or towing multiple flyers. Slip your feet into the footholds. One size fits all, as you’ll see,” Falcon encouraged.

Rolce and Gisbo both stepped on the reddish metal planks. Their feet were way too small to fit into the holds, but no sooner had the thought crossed their minds than Falcon’s essence snaked out in a rope once again. With a flash of red, both metal slabs ignited in a fiery blaze. At first, Rolce and Gisbo were alarmed as fire flickered all about them, but amazingly enough, it didn’t burn them at all. On the contrary, it felt warm and almost soothing. The two metal footholds suddenly appeared to melt over their shoes like mercury and then solidified, holding their feet firmly in place. Gisbo looked over at Rolce with excitement, but the big guy didn’t seem to share his enthusiasm. Rolce looked as if he had swallowed a ghost.

“Now then, just bend your knees and keep both arms out to steady yourselves and lean with the turns if you can. If not, I’ll prevent you from wobbling with my essence and we’ll arrive at Heaven’s Shelter in no time at all. Any questions?” Falcon said, prepared to take off.

“I . . . uh . . . what if an enemy attacks us midair? I mean, you don’t have your sword, you're defenseless!” Rolce exposed his nervousness.

“Well now, glad to see somebody thinking. The answer is quite simple. If I were on a skeet, this weapon of mine would be too big and too clumsy to swing. Hence, I have this angry little sucker,” Falcon said. He reached downward and pulled something off the back of his boot heel and attached it to his fist.

“Knuck Knife, favorite of the Shininjas. Brass knuckles with a surprise . . .” Falcon threw his fist downward in a quick snapping motion and a long, curved dagger with reddish glints flipped around and clicked into place. “Ooooo, pretty huh? Trust me, we will be fine. Any more questions?” Falcon asked.

“I . . . just don’t do well with heights, er flights, oh jeesh,” Rolce said, wiping sweat from his brow. Falcon then grinned a wicked little smile that caused Rolce’s knees to wobble.

“That ain’t no question, that’s a statement, my man. Typical Naforians, always ground ridden. Boy, when I’m done with you, you’re gonna love the heights! And don’t worry about that fire. It only burns someone when I want it to. Now . . . ” Falcon paused and rubbed his hands together in excitement.

“Sky blue! Air breezy! Fly true and don’t get queasy! HAHAHA!” With an uppercut punch, Falcon launched his burning blade upward, shooting straight into the sky, dragging the boys skeets with it at exceptional speed.

Wind rushed through Gisbo’s hair and the sun warmed his cheeks as they rose higher and higher. He couldn’t help but scream with enthusiasm, a big WAHOOOO, to be exact. He stretched out his arms and bent his knees the way Falcon had demonstrated. Never had he felt so free! Never had he been so high! He couldn’t believe the sense of euphoria. Gisbo took a glance down and saw Oak County literally shrink away and saw frantic soldiers scurry about like ants in the castle courtyard. Gisbo shook his head in disbelief, wondering how many times had he wished he could just up and fly away from Oak County like a bird.

What a day for dreams
, Gisbo thought, smiling. He looked over at Rolce to see if he was enjoying it as much as he was.

Rolce was bent down clutching the bottom of his board. His face was sweating and white and looked like melting snow. His eyes were squeezed shut and he shook his head back and forth as if to say, T
his isn’t happening, this isn’t happening
. Gisbo couldn’t help but laugh at his newfound friend.

Falcon leveled out and shot forward again at an even faster rate of speed. Gisbo looked down again and was graced with a vista of beautiful lakes, streams and many different birds that flew above the treetops beside them. Falcon turned to look back at him.

“Looks like you got the hang of things, eh kid? How’d you like a little more leeway?” Falcon yelled back. Gisbo quickly nodded his head in agreement.

Falcon gave him thumbs up and the thick rope-like essence attached to Gisbo’s metal board seemed to thin out a bit. Gisbo felt himself begin to drop slightly and it became shakier. Out of instinct, he thrust his arms out further and within no time he had balanced himself. Gisbo found that by leaning his board backward and tilting the front tip upward he could float higher and the opposite was true to float lower.

After some quick practice and test maneuvers, Gisbo was really getting the hang of skeeting. He weaved in and out of the passing clouds and gave a quick peek over at Rolce. Gisbo was so glad he had for, at that moment, poor Rolce was wrestling with a giant eagle he must have collided with while his eyes were closed. The eagle screeched, pecked and fluttered as Rolce held its sharp talons at bay. It was quite the sight and going as fast and as high as they were made it all the more hilarious to Gisbo. He found himself laughing so hard he almost completely lost his balance.

“Aye, that’ll teach ya to keep your eyes shut, eh Rolcey boy? Come on, ya big gallute, enjoy yourself! Take in the views! Ain’t no better air to breathe than the air you’re breathing now!” Falcon yelled back to Rolce. He then took a deep breath and let it out with a satisfied smile.

Rolce gripped the bottom of his board tightly and tried to take a brave look down. One look at the rushing land below was all it took. The big boy’s eyes went wide, then rolled to the back of his head and he passed out, right then and there. Upon doing so, his body collapsed to one side and he dangled upside down on his feet like a sleeping bat. Falcon seemed to slow at the dead weight he was now trailing. He took one look back and laughed heartily.

“Skeetin’ ain’t meant for everyone! Let’s say we kick it up a notch, eh Giz? Going to have to now that we got ourselves an anchor! We’ll be there in no time now!” Falcon yelled. Gisbo gave him a thumbs up and Falcon’s red essence flared wildly with a roar, sounding like the revving of a powerful engine, then compressed itself and shot them forward at almost double their initial speed, heading toward some large mountains in the distance.

Gisbo couldn’t help but marvel at the amount of space they had covered in this short amount of time. It was incredible and here he had thought they had some grand trek ahead of them.

They were now approaching a snowcapped mountain range and, as they grew closer, Gisbo began to make out the appearance of lighted windows nestled within the very surface of them. Upon squinting, he swore he even saw the silouttes of people walking back and forth and hanging out their laundry to dry.

All at once, Gisbo suddenly felt very cold. Looking downward, he saw a blanket of pure white snow covering the treetops. The various ponds and streams were now frozen and glistened like crystal. As much as Gisbo wanted to take in the sights, the cold was becoming unbearable, especially at their speed. Gisbo was just about to speak up when unexpected warmth washed over him. Amazingly, he didn’t even need to ask. Falcon’s essence began to wrap and swirl around him, supplying instant warmth.

“That should be a bit better, eh? Told ya I can heat this stuff when I want to. Don’t worry now, our destination is just within these mountains. I’m sure you’ve noticed our neighboring Sorians by now! They hollowed out most of the mountainside and live within it. They also got a secret city that floats in the sky somewhere. We used to have our differences in the past, but now we are the greatest of allies! They even allowed us to share bum space with the lot of them, opening their homes to us gracefully. This is one of the only places on Thera you’ll find us Flarians nowadays and them Sorians are a fantastic people to let us stay. You’ll come to love their hospitality and their great food as well! Of course, they aren’t the only race you’ll find up here. Every one of ‘em calls this place home. Almost there now. Next stop, Heaven’s Shelter!” Falcon yelled. Gisbo looked over at Rolce. The boy was still swinging upside down, unconscious. Gisbo couldn’t help but laugh once more at his huge unconscious form swinging about lazily.

It was then Gisbo noticed other skeeters in the sky as well, towing what seemed to be other Renegades-to-be, just like him. Many of them waved at Falcon, apparently recognizing him from a distance. Falcon was happy to give a salute back, as well as a few waves. Gisbo did notice that only those with the same fiery red essence as Falcon were doing the skeeting and he supposed it was a technique only Flarians knew. That suited him just fine. He craved learning how to skeet for himself. It had always been clearly stated in his lessons that the only race capable of flight was the Soarian race. He began to wonder what else his schoolbooks were wrong about and how outdated or purposefully edited they must have been.

Falcon began to slow up as he got nearer to the mountainside.
We must be getting close,
Gisbo thought. He noticed the dozen or so other Renegade skeeters begin to slow down as well. It was then that reality itself began to bend. The Skeeter in front of them outright disappeared. He didn’t just fade away either. The Renegade skeeter was there and then he simply wasn’t. Gisbo was taken aback. Falcon looked back and smiled at Gisbo’s reaction as they neared the place where the air seemed to have swallowed up the skeeter. Upon hitting the spot, there was a strange SHWOOP sound and what Gisbo saw next made his mouth hang open. There a large village appeared before them. They had arrived at Heaven’s Shelter.