Page 114 of Lost and Stolen Gods
“Landing now,” Araz said. “Brace!”
I squeezed him tightly, teeth knocking together as we landed. The rush of air faded, and he gently pinched my waist, my signal to dismount. I slowly peeled myself from his body and put boots on the ground.
The stars were far away now, and it smelled different here too. Earthier.
“Move out,” Guru Mihir called. “Stay on the road. Stay together. Two hours till we reach settlement. Let’s go.”
We set off at a brisk trudge, but my legs felt like blocks.
“Dammit, I feel like I’ve put on weight,” Dharma said from behind us.
“It will pass,” Chaya said.
“The change in air density, and the closeness to theearth core—“ Pashim broke off quickly. “Or so I’ve heard.”
I shot him a warning look because he shouldn’t know such things. Such things were in the books that were restricted for drohi. I expected a wry smile, but his expression remained serious, flicking from me to Araz and back again.
My chest grew tight.
“Pick up the pace,” Guru Mihir called out.
Guru Mihir’s elite team and their drohi surrounded us as we broke into a light jog.
Thoughts and feelings would have to wait. I had a job to do.
Chapter 39
I’VE NEVER BEEN THE JEALOUS TYPE
We alternated between jogging and walking, and I was sure it was for the benefit of us potentials. The irritated looks on the elite team’s faces was enough to confirm it. After a while, the elite team split so there was a small group ahead of us and a small group behind. Jasha and Pashim stayed in the center with us, while Guru Mihir made up the lead.
The road was cracked and overgrown. The silhouetted remains of a town were visible in the distance to our left, and open plains lay to our right. It reminded me of home—if home had been devastated by war.
Had there been technology here once? Had the humans here ever had a chance to evolve scientifically, or had magic dampened that possibility?
“How many elite teams are there?” Dharma asked.
“A few,” Pashim replied. “There is a drohi team led by Araz and several teams led by ascended.”
He jogged beside me, so I was sandwiched between him and Araz, but he hadn’t spoken to me directly yet.
How long had we been on the move? Surely I should be feeling tired by now? Were we going uphill? The terrain shifted, the town fell away, and the road crumbled, leaving us on an uneven, overgrown trail. Our pace slowed a fraction.
“The settlement is up ahead,” Araz said.
“Have you been here before?”
“I was here when it was built,” Araz said, “and again when we filled it with people.”
“It will be good to see them again,” Pashim said.
Brush and woodland crept up around us, swallowing us surreptitiously until we were in a forest, thick with the scent of nature and the soft distinct sounds of nocturnal fauna. Moonlight dappled the ground, soft earth muting our bootfalls.
“What is that?” Joe asked from up ahead. “That glow.”
I spotted it a moment later—a silver glow rising from the ground and into the sky like a translucent shield.
“It’s the boundary.” One of the elites fell into step beside us. Her hair was shaved at the sides in a mohawk, which loaned her delicate features a little hardness, which I assumed was the reason for the hairdo. She wasn’t much taller than me. A demigod oran ascended? “The tantrikJaduthat protects the settlement begins there,” she continued. “It’s quite impressive how they sow the magic into the earth. Maybe you’ll get to see them create one someday.”
