Elemental Inheritance Part 2

Leaving the hectic docks behind, Deegan climbed into the sky above Artaxis until the city lay beneath him. Spreading away from the docks and the sprawling lower city, Artaxis rose up on a series of terraces carved in to the northern face of the island's central mountain. Seventy-five thousand people crowded its streets while above them the skies were filled with ships from every nation bringing in produce and commodities from across the world.

Having lived in the city for five years now, Deegan knew its streets well, his skyboard giving him a view of the city that few of its inhabitants could enjoy. At the same time, the skyboard had turned more than a few heads. As far as he could tell, his board was one of a kind; he'd never seen anything like it. Deegan assumed that was because no one other than him was crazy enough to build and operate such a device. His father, proud of his son's accomplishment, had said as much on more than one occasion.

After taking a second to enjoy the view, he swooped down towards the second terrace, looking for Black Street. The second terrace was home to a number of merchant districts mixed in with middle class residential streets. It was a much nicer and cleaner place than down in the lower city where Deegan and his family lived.

It didn't take him long to find it and he set down in a small square a short distance from his destination; his sudden appearance drawing more than a few startled and curious looks which the young boy ignored. Jogging the last dozen or so yards, Deegan couldn't help but smile. From the Docks to the Second Terrace in under five minutes without using the board's booster, that had to be a personal best. Handing over the package didn't take much longer; "Port Authority Messenger service sir, got a package for you … sign here … here's your package sir, have a nice day." With the package delivered, Deegan made his way back to the docks to wait for his next job.

----

His skyboard strapped to the back of his shirt underneath his backpack, Deegan walked through the marketplace, his mind on food. It had been a long day for him, seeing him run ragged scooting back and forth across the city on over a dozen deliveries. He was exhausted and the heat of the summer day had left him parched, his skin red from the harsh sun. In hindsight, skipping breakfast this morning to get to work early had probably been a mistake; he was starving.

He stopped at one of the stalls, attracted by the smell of fresh fruit. "Hey there Little Thief," the stall owner said as he saw Deegan approach, "anything catch your eye?" Deegan blushed; he hated that nickname even if there was no malice behind its use. He wasn't a thief; it had all been just a misunderstanding.

Not long after moving to Artaxis, his father had taken him to the market. Deegan, nine-years-old and wide-eyed with amazement at being in such a big city for the first time, had wandered away from his father. He had stopped in front of a fruit-seller's stand and studied the fruit on offer. There were so many colours, textures and scents; so many varieties of fruit that he had never seen before. Picking up one that had looked particularly tasty; he had glanced around looking for his father. Seeing him just a couple of stalls down, Deegan had started to run over to ask him for the money to buy it. Before he could get more than a couple of steps, his arm was grabbed and he was nearly lifted clear of the floor by the irate trader. "Not so fast you little thief," the trader growled down at him, "I've had enough of you thieving little punks." Deegan looked down in horror at his hand still holding the fruit and realised what this must look like. He knew what happened to thieves, if they thought he was trying to steal the fruit he'd be thrown in jail if not hanged. Tears streaming down his face, he had loudly protested his innocence. Luckily, his father had heard the commotion and strode over, demanding to know what the man was doing to his son. The trader had eventually been convinced by the boy's terrified tears and his father's calm words but ever since that day, the trader had taken to calling him by that nickname.

"Hey Jayden, you still got any kumo fruit in?" Deegan asked scanning the stalls wares.

The trader smiled and reached under the stall. "I always keep one back for you." He held the succulent fruit just out of Deegan's reach. "You got money?"

Deegan rolled his eyes and fished out a couple of coins, dropping them into the trader's hand. "Thanks Jayden," he said as the trader handed him the kumo and he took a deep bite, savouring the taste of the juices. "See you tomorrow."

He continued on his way, chewing on the fruit, lost in thought. It wasn't far to the pub where his father would be waiting for him. It had been a hot day and he was looking forward to the promised drink; he certainly felt that he deserved it. Tomorrow was one of the days that he was at school and if tomorrow was as hot as today, then sitting in that stuffy classroom was going to be torture. At least he wouldn't be there all day and he'd be free in the afternoon to hang out with his friends or just mess around on his skyboard.

Not paying attention to where he was going, he almost walked into someone standing in his way. "Excuse me," he started to say but stopped when he looked up and saw the Imperial uniform hidden underneath the man's cloak. The man looked down at him, one hand on the sword on his belt. He wasn't alone either; two other similarly attired men were with him. Before Deegan knew what to do, the two other men had positioned themselves behind him. He swallowed nervously and held his hands up. "Umm, guys, if this is about the flag, you can have it back. It was just a stupid prank. No need to get nasty about it, right?"

The Imperial soldiers looked at each other in confusion for a second. "This is that kid from last night?" One of the soldiers said.

"Talk about coincidence" another said.

"Wait up," Deegan thought to himself, "if they're not here for … and if I've just said … awww crud."

"Quiet!" The soldier in front of Deegan barked. "Arashi, Vigilant Fletcher would like a word with you."

He barely contained a sigh of relief. "Sorry guys, I think you got the wrong guy, my name's …"

"Vigilant Fletcher was specific." The soldier said firmly, "He said 'Bring me the boy with unkempt wine-coloured hair under a blue bandana, a red armband on his arm with the number 46 written on it and a strange plank-like object strapped to his back.'" That certainly described him. "He was most insistent."

"Okay … creepy … but I've had a long day at work so I'll think I'll give talking to a crazy sorcerer a pass." Deegan tried move away, but he was surrounded, and from the way they were standing, they weren't about to let him just walk away. This was bad, really bad. He stuffed the rest of the kumo into his mouth.

"You 'aint going nowhere 'cept with us kid." One of the soldiers behind him said.

"And if I say no?" Deegan said, chewing on the remains on the fruit as fast as he could, the juices dribbling out of the corner of his mouth.

"Then," the soldier said sneering and unsheathing his sword an inch, "we'll make you and I can't guarantee that you won't get hurt in the process. In fact, I can guarantee that you will."

Deegan nodded. "Uh huh, are you allergic to kumo fruit?" Confused by the sudden non-sequitur, the soldier could only stammer that he wasn't. "Good." Before the soldier could respond, Deegan spat the pulped fruit into the man's face. He screamed as the kumo's juices blinded him; the men behind Deegan were too stunned to react as he pushed past their blinded captain and took off running down the narrow street. They recovered quickly and soon began chasing the fleeing boy.

Weaving through the crowded streets whilst being chased by three Imperial soldiers was not how he wanted to spend his evening. Especially since he didn't have the energy for it. He had no idea who this "Arashi" person was, but the Vigilant had described him with near perfection and he had no intention of finding out what the man wanted with him.

"Stop thief!" The lead soldier yelled as he pushed his way down the street.

"Great," Deegan muttered through gritted teeth, "a smart soldier, just what I need." Yelling that while chasing a kid down the street increased the chance that someone might help them catch him. Luckily, most of the merchants knew the local street rats and pickpockets by sight and Deegan wasn't one of them. However, all it would take is one meddling do-gooder and those soldiers would get him; he also needed to avoid any city guardsmen.

A hand reached out and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt as he ran past an alleyway, pulling him inside. His own momentum took his feet out from under him and he would have fallen to the floor if not for the tight grip on his shirt. "Lemme go!" He yelled, trying to twist out of the grip holding him.

"Quiet!" A voice hissed as he was span round, pressed against a wall and a hand clamped across his mouth. Deegan looked up with wide, panicked eyes, at the person restraining him. It was a boy a couple of years older looking down at him with harsh grey eyes. "If you know what's good for you you'll keep still and shut up." The boy pressed himself against Deegan and glanced towards the street. Shadows seemed to flow like water from where they were situated as Deegan watched, pooling around them both. A tingle ran down his spine, his hairs stood on end; this was magic.

"I think he ducked into this alley," a voice yelled from the street. The three soldiers charged into the alley heading straight for where Deegan was being held against the wall. Deegan suddenly started struggling with the boy holding him, convinced he was working with the soldiers.

The boy glanced back at him with a pleading look in his eyes. "Do you want to get us both caught?" It took a second for Deegan to realise that the words had been spoken without the boy moving his lips. Somehow, the boy had projected the words directly telepathically into Deegan's head.

Deegan watched with a growing sense of panic as the soldiers neared them. However, instead of trying to grab them, they ran straight past as if they didn't see the two boys at all, disappearing around the corner. The boy stepped back, releasing Deegan and letting out a sigh of relief. "That was close." He said aloud. As he spoke, the shadows receded from around them, returning to their place. "You're welcome by the way." Deegan stood against the wall, staring at the boy in front of him, his so-called saviour. The boy's eyes looked out from under a fringe of black hair, and despite the cocky smirk on his face, they were harsh and cold. There was something about him, something familiar almost as if Deegan knew him somehow even though he knew that they'd never met. It must be magic he thought, something to "help" him trust the strange boy. However, after the run in with the soldier's he wasn't about to take anything or anyone on faith right now, especially a strange magic-user who coincidentally shows up to save him from being dragged to an Imperial Vigilant. "You're younger than I thought you'd be Arashi, and shorter. Come on, we better get going."

If the boy had wanted to convince Deegan to trust him, then using the name "Arashi" was bad mistake. Deegan took a step toward the boy until they were almost chest-to-chest. "I'm not going anywhere with you or anyone else." The boy opened his mouth to say something but he was cut off as Deegan glared at him. "And my name is Deegan." He reached forward and grabbed the boy's arms, moving too fast for the startled boy to respond. Deegan's knee shot up and crashed into the boy's groin causing him to double over and groan in pain.

"Stupid brat," the boy hissed as he rolled around on the floor, "I'm trying to help you." However, Deegan had already gone.

----

Robert leaned back on his chair, sipping at his pint. The cold ale was a welcome relief from the heat. He didn't envy his son working today, he had the benefit of the tug's cab for shade, but Deegan would have had no protection from the burning sun. He looked forward to sharing a drink with his son, a drink Deegan would surely need. Robert smiled sadly; perhaps things could have been different if his own father had tried a little father-son bonding, but such basic human interaction was probably beyond that man's understanding.

His train of thought was interrupted as Deegan burst into the tavern, looking around frantically. Deegan's face was flushed and dripping with sweat; he'd obviously been running. "Deegan, over here," Robert called out over the din of the pub, waving him over. At the sound of his voice, Deegan's head whipped around to face him and for the first time he saw the panicked look in his son's eyes; something was wrong.

"DadsomeguysareaftermeimperialsoldiersIthinksomeVigilantsentthemexcepttheykeepcallingme…" he said without stopping to breathe before his father cut him off.

"Hey, calm down and take a deep breath," Robert said, standing up and grabbing Deegan by the shoulders; the boy looked about ready to collapse. "Start from the beginning, what's wrong?"

Deegan reached across the table, picked up his father's nearly full pint mug and gulped down the drink thirstily. "These guys, Imperial soldiers, just tried to grab me off the street."

"What! Why?"

"They said a Vigilant sent them," Deegan said, still out of breath. "A Vigilant Fletcher."

Robert's grip on his son's shoulders tightened to an almost painful degree. "What was that name you just said?" He demanded sharply. Deegan repeated the name and Robert closed his eyes, grimacing.

"Dad," Deegan said, confused by his father's sudden reaction, "what's wrong?"

Forcing a smile, Robert relaxed his grip and began propelling Deegan towards the back door. "Nothing, let's get you home." Refusing to answer any more questions, Robert hurried through the streets, half dragging Deegan behind him.