Seeker of the Four Winds: A Galatia Novel (44 page)

The baseball diamond remained still and
quiet as the leaders of the Western Alliance contemplated this turn
of events.

“The map is a fraud,” Chief Krom accused,
his beady eyes glaring at Judge Elizabeth and General Red. “This is
a setup with magical trickery carved all over it.”

Red took a step toward the chief, pounding
the end of his angelic staff angrily against the ground. “It is not
magic that saved us, but the hand of our God. Stand down or feel
his wrath.”

Chief Krom gave a battle cry and bashed in
the projector with his sledge hand and swung at Judge Elizabeth. Or
was it aimed at Red? Josie couldn’t be sure as they were standing
side-by-side, but Michael drew his sword, cutting off the chief’s
sledge in one swipe.

The chief cried out in surprise, backed away
from Michael, growling at the back of his throat. Two of Krom’s
warriors lowered their horns as if they were about to charge
Michael, but other Galatians with angelic swords formed a tight
circle around him and Judge Elizabeth.

“Stand down, Chief Krom,” Prince Loyl said,
slit eyes narrowing in warning, while Prince Valdor backed him with
a feisty glare. “The Blood Map has been authenticated. Its colors
do not lie. According to the treaty our kingdoms have signed, every
tree, every mountain, every stream, every crumb of dirt on this
planet belongs to the Galatians, making us mere tenants in our own
lands. But they do not demand all our lands. Just what they
need.”

“Who is to say they won’t change their minds
tomorrow?” Chief Krom’s chest heaved. “I say to Helhatha with the
treaty, it’s more important to finish this battle.”

“I’m sick to death of treaties,” Judge
Elizabeth pushed her way through the Galatians protecting her from
harm. “But since the Alliance loves them so much, let’s add a rider
to First Rights. As long as the other nations respect our borders,
recognize us as a free and sovereign nation, and we are welcomed
into the Western Alliance as full members in good standing, Galatia
will forfeit its rights to all of your kingdoms. Would that make
everyone happy?”

“You would do that?” Chief Krom asked, brow
furrowing in suspicion. “Why?”

“So that all of humanity and its offshoots
may live in peace.”

The leaders broke out in agitated
discussion, while General Red and Michael took strategic positions
around their mother, as if they feared the Bulwarks would attack
her again.

After several minutes, Prince Valdor spoke
for the Western Alliance. “We accept your proposition. We will have
our lawyers draw up the addendum and present it to you
post-haste.”

Chief Krom snatched a war hammer from one of
his warriors, and with a fierce growl, hit the Blood Map,
shattering the projector beneath it into thousands of pieces.

“Whah!” Gizmo said, shielding his face. When
he saw the projector, his face turned into red fury. “That’s
irreplaceable, you asshole!”

Chief Krom tackled Gizmo. The two of them
rolled across the ground several times before General Red, Prince
Loyl and Prince Valdor’s soldiers broke it apart.

“Galatia is theirs and we are obligated to
leave them live in peace,” Prince Loyl said, holding his chin where
Chief Krom had hit him in a blind rage.

“Galatian lover!” Chief Krom spat at the
Regalan prince.

“On behalf of my father,” Prince Valdor
address Elizabeth with an elegant bow, “I apologize for the
misunderstanding. My army will be gone by sundown.” He took Judge
Elizabeth’s hand between his own. “Welcome to the Alliance. I’m
sure you will have much to offer.”

Spinning on his heel, Prince Valdor marched
away with his nose in the air. Chief Krom was given an escort to
the city gates by the Galatian soldiers.

“Prince Valdor seems like a good guy,” Josie
commented to Lars as they watched him go.

“His words do not match the loathing he
feels towards us,” Lars said.

“How do you know the loathing wasn’t for the
Bulwarks?” Josie asked.

“It was strongest whenever Judge Elizabeth
or General Red spoke.”

“Can’t trust anybody,” Josie said with a
sour frown as the crowd was breaking up, and the leaders were
returning to the battle field to pack up and go home. “Future Earth
sucks.”

“But we won, Josie. We won.”

“I know,” she said. “But somehow it feels
disappointing.”

“We have a permanent home now. What else
could you possibly want?”

“Fireworks. Definitely fireworks. And a
great big party with streamers, candles, chocolate cake, potato
chips and music. A game of pin-the-tail on the snuffy would be fun,
too.”

“Sounds nice, but right now I’d settle for a
bath and a week in bed.”

“Do you think they’ll give us medals?” Josie
said. “After all, we did save Galatia.”

Lars smiled, pulled her into his arms, and
planted a soft kiss on her lips. “I’d rather have a house for me
and my fiancé.”

Although she hadn’t forgotten Lars’s
marriage proposal, it had been given when they were minutes away
from death. Now that there were years of commitment stretching out
into an unknown future, she suddenly felt afraid.

“Uh, well, it was all so spur-of-the-moment,
there wasn’t even a ring to make the engagement official. Since we
escaped and all, I just kind of figured that the marriage was
off.”

His face fell and his arms slipped from
around her, so she backtracked.

“What I mean is—now that we have more time
to think things through more clearly-- maybe we should slow down
and make sure this is really what...”

“Stop, I know what you mean,” he retorted
angrily. “Now, that we’re home, you want to keep your options open.
I’m sure Isaiah will be glad.”

“What does he have to do with anything? It’s
just that there’s so much going on right now, so much to do.
Galatia is going to need a lot of nurturing is she’s to survive.
And I want to be part of that, Lars. Don’t you?”

“The girl who rushes into everything
headfirst, to hell with the ramifications, is suddenly
cautious?”

“My mom has been married four times. I don’t
want to make the same mistakes.”

“Hasn’t everything we’ve been through proven
that we can serve Galatia better together than apart? You’re the
woman with all the ideas, Josie. I’m the man who makes sure you
live long enough to see them through. You’re the enthusiasm, I’m
the caution flag. You’re the one who looks ahead, I’m the one who’s
got your back. Without me, you wouldn’t have completed the mission.
Without you, there would have been no mission in the first place.
How can you turn your back on me—your other half?”

“Lars, when I see the future, I only see
you. Can’t that be enough for now?”

“Hey,” Gizmo said, walking past them,
cradling his broken projector. One lens of his glasses was
shattered, the eye beneath blackened, as the bent frames hung
crooked on his nose. “How about helping me get my equipment off the
rooftop before it rains?”

(Larsen Drey Steelsun)

Josie, Lars and Gizmo spent an hour carrying
equipment down from the rooftop back to a warehouse two blocks
away. As the morning continued to break, the Allied troops outside
of the city started disbanding. The city began to stretch and yawn
as if waking up from a drubbing, still sore and beaten, but happy
to be alive. People were hurrying up and down the streets, some
with stressed expressions, while others were jubilant. The
threesome had just dropped off a load of electronics and were
making their last trip up to the rooftop, when their former gym
teacher stopped them on the sidewalk. The man ate, breathed, and
shit sports.

“Most of the troops are leaving now, so you
best get going or you will be left behind.” Mr. Shively squinted
hard at Lars and Josie as if struggling to place their names. “Oh,
pardon my mistake, at a glance I thought you were warriors from the
Alliance.”

“Nope. You used to be my gym teacher, Mr.
Shively.”

“Loppy—Loppy Lars—the kid with the bum
shoulder?” His eyes lit in recognition. “No way! Last time I talked
to you, you could barely hold a shovel.”

“I filled out,” Lars said coldly.

“Wow,” his teacher said, backing up to take
a better look, “that’s an understatement. Did either of you get an
angelic sword?”

Josie shook her head.

“Don’t feel bad, most people didn’t get
one.” Mr. Shively patted the angelic sword at his side. “They only
went to the best and the brightest.”

Josie curled a fist and took a step forward.
Lars threaded his fingers between the fingers of her free hand and
held her back.

They left Mr. Shively and went on to carry
the last of Gizmo’s equipment to the warehouse, which was filled
with tall wooden shelves stacked with odds and ends from the
bunker. Big windows lined the top of the building, letting the
late-morning sun cast everything in warm amber light.

Gizmo was there ensuring everything got
returned to the proper place—he was a stickler that way. He
indicated the shelf where Lars was to place the speaker he was
holding. In the process of scooting it into place, whatever was on
the other side of the shelf, crashed to the floor.

“Hey, stupid,” he heard a cantankerous voice
from the other side. “You better not have broken this thing.”

“Is that you Grandpa?”

“Lars?” Grandpa shot up in surprise to peer
at him through the other side of the shelf. “There you are. Your
mom and grandma have been looking all over for you. They were
getting really mushy, crying and shit, I could hardly stand it. Is
that why you’re hiding out here?”

“I’m not hiding.”

Grandpa came around the corner, holding a
Geiger counter. “Ah, there it goes, about 0.05. Good.”

Josie approached with a box of gadgets from
the roof. “Where do you want them, Giz?” The Geiger counter
suddenly started to crackle, the needle shooting up to the 300
range.

Grandpa’s eyes widened.

“Set that box down,” he ordered. “Something
in there is radioactive.”

Josie dropped it and backed away.

Lars and Gizmo took several steps back as
Grandpa brought the Geiger’s wand to the box, hovering over it.
“Huh,” Grandpa said, wearing a puzzled expression. “The reading is
normal again. Maybe this thing is broken after all.”

“Whew,” Josie said. “I’d hate to be carrying
something radioactive.”

“Bring the box over to that table.” When
Josie set the box down, the Geiger went off again. Grandpa’s eyes
widened. The closer he brought the wand to Josie, the more it
crackled, the higher the reading. “Slowly back away from the wand,”
he told her.

She did so and the reading lowered again.
Her face paled. Lars held his breath, a sick feeling coming over
him.

Grandpa waved the wand over her entire body
and the radiation counter went wild when it got to the Seeker of
the Four Winds. He lifted it from the Seeker, and the sound
diminished.

“Get it off!” she said, clawing at it like a
poison snake. “For the love of God, get it off me!”

Lars stood there helpless, remembering how
nothing and nobody had managed to cut through the chain holding the
pendant to her wrist. She took out her dagger, frantically trying
to cut it away, slicing up her arm in the process. Lars took hold
of both her wrists, refusing to let her injure herself further.

“Shhh,” He kissed the top of her head.
“Everything’s going to be okay.”

She pushed him so hard he stumbled into one
of the shelves. “Get away from me. I don’t want you to get
irradiated too!”

“Calm down, girl,” Grandpa snarled. “You
ain’t dead yet, so quit your yammering and let me cut it off of
you.”

Holding her arm straight out, she let
Grandpa wiggle his blade beneath the chain. Everyone watched in
fascination as the empty blade filled with veins of glistening red
liquid.

“How are you doing that?” For a moment,
Josie’s awe beat back her fear of radiation. “Is that really your
blood and soul like Red said?”

“I think so,” Grandpa said.

“Does it hurt?” Lars wanted to know.

“Not at all.” Grandpa jerked his blade
upward. The sunmurtain chain broke in half. “See,” he said.
“Nothing to it.”

“Whoa,” Lars said. “You made that look so
easy.”

“Like I’ve always said, the right tool for
the job gives you more time to be a slob.”

Josie rubbed her bloodied wrist, while Lars
took the Seeker and placed it in a plastic container. “I’ll dispose
of this for you.”

“No!” Josie said reaching for it again.
“It’s mine.”

“But you wanted nothing to do with it a
second ago.”

“I know, I know, but now that it’s finally
off, I’m feeling a bit more level-headed. That thing was on my
wrist for ages, what’s another day going to matter? I’ll ask around
to find out how I can store it so nobody gets radiated by it.”

“Where did you get that necklace anyway?”
Gizmo asked.

“As we were escaping the bunker, I found it
on the floor of the Pringle barn.”

“Ahh,” Gizmo said. “That explains the
radiation. It was on the surface of the earth for forty years
following nuclear Armageddon. It must be hopelessly contaminated.
I’m surprised you’re not already dead from radiation sickness.”

“Man, am I stupid,” Josie said, head hung
low, tears streaming down her face. “I should have realized.”

The double doors to the warehouse swung
open, letting in the sounds of bells ringing, and cheering. In came
Professor Sweet. A smile lit up his usual stony face when he saw
Gizmo.

“A big victory celebration is being planned
for this evening,” the professor said. “Red wants you to set up the
lighting and sound equipment for a party on the square.”

“But I just put everything away!” Gizmo
protested.