Abnormals underground 01.., p.31
abnormals underground 01 - one to five, page 31
“San...san...I can't pronounce any of these words,” I said. “I think that's what screwed us up at the portal.”
The ruins looked small and insignificant behind the glass, but when I looked closer, I saw that there were other excavation sites and that there were a lot of stone rings made of T-shaped pillars. The ruins were larger than I'd thought. It was no wonder the most powerful Abnormals liked to meet there back in the day.
“We need a way to get there,” Xavier said. “I'm guessing we might be in a large city. The capital, maybe. If that's true, we'll have to travel across the entire country.”
“A cab?” I asked.
“I need someone we can talk to,” Xavier said. “I only know two languages. This one, and the old magical one that we don't name.”
“But even if we talk to some tourists who can understand us, will they give two strange people a ride?” I asked.
“Good question. We didn't plan our trip very well.”
Xavier and I hung out by the exhibit for what felt like a long time, watching people pass. Most were speaking languages that I didn't recognize and even the few I could understand hurried past us as if they sensed something off. Food smells filled the air and my stomach rumbled again. We were having so many problems.
“Are you sure you can't Transpose that far? It's a lot closer than across the world now.”
Xavier leaned closer to the glass. “I'm seriously thinking about it.”
“Don't do it if it's going to hurt you.”
Xavier's gaze shifted over the little ruins behind the glass. I knew what he was doing. He was memorizing how the place looked. He was really thinking about trying it. “We might be close enough,” he said. “I've heard of War Mages Transposing from city to city, but I'm going to need another big meal first.”
I gulped. “I'm not doing well, either.”
“We'll find you food,” Xavier said. “I was hoping you could have something at the club, but that didn't work out so well.”
We filed through the rest of the museum and by the time we came back around to the main lobby, the light outside had changed but hadn't gone in. We had stayed in here until mid-afternoon. Xavier slipped his hand into mine. “Do you think you can walk around for a little bit out there?” he asked.
“Maybe a little bit.” I felt like the coat would be almost as good as the Migraine Blanket but I wasn't sure how the Normals in Turkey would react to Abnormals. It was a bit different in each country, but some were harder than others. Nowhere were Abnormals completely accepted.
Xavier and I stepped out into the sun. My hand burned but Xavier made his best effort to cover my skin with his own, larger hand and it helped. The coat kept the vast majority of the sun off. My face burned a bit and I had to squint as I walked, but the brimmed hat was really helping with that area, too. Why hadn't I tried this sooner?
The coat was also infused with Xavier's scent. The wood smoke and a hint of something more exotic was overpowering now. My stomach rumbled, louder this time. This was getting dangerous.
“I think we're in Istanbul,” Xavier said. “I'm seeing the word written all over the cabs here.”
“That's the farthest we can be from the ruins,” I muttered.
We walked for several minutes and Xavier pulled us into a restaurant. I might guide Xavier at night, but it was his turn to guide me during the day.
Food smells overtook his scent and I breathed a silent sigh of relief. We found a booth and Xavier ordered us a random dish that he pointed at on the menu. “We need to look like we're sharing,” he said.
The dish turned out to be lamb and Xavier wolfed it down in anticipation of what we'd have to do. I could sense his nerves. He had never attempted a jump this far before. I pretended to take some bites. The restaurant was crowded. I didn't know who was watching.
“You smell nervous,” I said.
“I am nervous,” he admitted. “I've never tried to Transpose over several hundred miles before.”
“What's your record?” I asked.
“Um...thirty-five miles?”
I let my face fall to my hand. “We're doomed. Maybe we should figure out how transportation works here after all.”
“That might be even riskier,” Xavier said.
“Why?”
He leaned close. “You have that hat on so you can't see what kinds of stares we're already getting.”
I took the hat off and the daylight diffusing through the restaurant made me squint. We were dressed differently than the locals who were in here and to top it off, I was wearing a guys' jacket that conveniently shielded me from the sun. We were also in the booth furthest from the windows, in the darkest part of the restaurant.
A man in a business suit went back to his meal when he caught me looking. Xavier was right that people were wondering at the very least. This was like Cumberland and the rest of the world. I'd been hoping for a break but we weren't going to catch any.
We finished and Xavier left a colorful bill on the table to tip the waiter. “I hope that's a good enough tip,” he said.
“I'm sure it's fine,” I said, slipping the hat back on. “Should we Transpose now?”
We stepped back out in the fresh air. I was hungrier than ever. I looked back inside the restaurant to find the waiter picking up his tip and turning it over and over again in disbelief. His jaw fell open.
“Not in the street,” Xavier said. “I don't want to bother people or freak them out. I'm also not sure where we're going to land. The ruins don't have any shade.”
“I'm doing fine,” I said. “My hand's just on fire. You might need to hold it again.”
“No problem.”
Tingles raced through me as he did. An airplane sounded overhead. I'd been hearing them since we got here and they'd faded to background noise, but this one was close. We were near an airport.
Xavier squeezed my hand. Here he was again, sending me the green light that we could be more than battle partners. Without his jacket hiding him, Xavier was perfect in every way. His body...his hair...everything was so evenly matched up that I swore he had to be a character in an animated movie come to life. He was the hero for sure.
We walked, searching for a quiet alley, but this city was very busy and some parts reminded me of Xavier's underground district. The cars around us became classier and the buses were a bit further apart. The scents surrounded me like always.
Until one stood out.
A stretch limo approached from the direction of the airport. It was black with tinted windows that even I could not see inside of.
“Xavier...” I managed.
The scent that hit me was so strong and terrifying that I stopped right in the middle of the sidewalk. If an entire field of oil were lit and left to burn, this was what it would smell like. The stench was so horrific that I had to reach up and cover my nose. The limo rolled past, carrying the horrible scent with it.
“What's wrong?” he asked.
“Someone forgot to put on deodorant?” I asked. “Something really, really bad just passed us, Xavier. You didn't smell that?”
He sniffed. “Human nose,” he said, moving to the side to let three older women pass.
I turned and watched the limo roll further away. I uncovered my nose and the smell faded, little by little. “You're lucky. It was coming from that car.”
“The limo?” he asked. “I can't see inside of it. What did it smell like?”
The car continued on and turned a corner. “Like burning oil,” I said. “It wasn't a demon smell. This was something I've never come across.”
“Well,” Xavier said. “It might be someone going to the big Dark Council hundred year party. Maybe they came from the airport. We'd better get there before they stink up the place.”
“We don't know that,” I said, shuddering at the thought of what might have been in that limo.
“Well, that car was coming from the direction that all the planes are landing in,” Xavier said. “The thing is, I can't think of any creatures even werewolves say smell like that.”
“I hope you're not right about them going where we're going,” I said. “Whatever that was, I pray we do not run into it.”
Chapter Fifteen
We didn't encounter any more burning oil smells on our walk through the city and I spent the rest of the time holding a mild headache back, but Xavier did say he spotted an alley up ahead that looked quiet.
It turned out to be another narrow street, one with apartments overhead that also reminded me of the underground War Mage district. Flowers hung over us and he looked to make sure no one was watching.
“I don't smell anyone nearby,” I said, watching the traffic that was going past out on the main street. “I think we're good. Are you sure you can do this?”
He grinned and released my hand. “The worst case is that we end up in the women's restroom again. I hope.”
“You might be really drained when we get to our destination,” I said.
“I will be. You might have to carry me.”
“Fair enough.” Tingles rushed through me at the thought. “But there might be problems if we get to the temple and we might have to fight.”
“It's better that we get there now before the entire Dark Council does.”
“Okay,” I said, spreading my arms for a Transposing hug. “Here we go.”
“Bear with me,” Xavier said, hugging me back. “Oh, and Alyssa?”
“Yeah?” I accidentally hit him with my cane.
“Can I, well, can I...never mind.”
The magenta light exploded around us, more intense than I ever remembered, and I had to squint against the new invasion. The light still tried to stab into my eyes as the flames of the War Magic licked around us, hot but not burning, and we fell together into a void.
We fell...and fell...for what felt like an eternity. Xavier trembled. His grip on me loosened and then tightened again. Then his fingers slipped and the fierce wind blasted between us, driving us apart.
“Alyssa!” Xavier shouted.
I opened my eyes. We were flying apart, splitting up. Xavier flailed, flying back into the purple rage and fire where he vanished.
I screamed his name over and over, but saw no sign of him and I continued to fall. I tumbled through the magic, helpless, waiting...I fell....and fell...for so long that I started to wonder how long death would take to claim one of us. Something was wrong.
And then I landed.
I crouched from the force as the world snapped back into place. I blinked and caught a glimpse of tan, stone town buildings and long, tired sunlight. Pain hit my eyes and a car rolled past, ignoring me. I backed into the shade of an awning.
“Huh?” I blurted.
I tapped my Hello Kitty cane on the sidewalk, turning in a circle. I was alone except for a couple strolling on the sidewalk in the distance. It was late afternoon and another old car rolled past. Xavier was nowhere. Food smells came out of a grocery market nearby and an old woman came out of the store, hunched and carrying a bag. Hills and waves of houses and stone buildings rose above me. This was another fairly large city, not as big as the capital but still pretty large. How long had Xavier and I been falling through the magic?
And where was I?
I stayed in the shade and watched another car go past, this one a cab with something written in Turkish on the side. There was a local driver inside and a couple of people dressed in polo shirts who looked like they were from Southeast Asia. If I didn't know better I would have guessed that they were tourists, but this was a city that didn't seem to have anything tourist-y in it.
And where was Xavier?
I sighed. I still had his jacket and hat with me so there was that. I could stay out here for a limited time but with the sun getting low, the hat might not protect my eyes and face much. The dull headache was still there, throbbing between my ears and it wouldn't go away until the sun went down. I would just have to deal with it.
“Xavier?” I called. I sniffed the air to smell if he had landed anywhere nearby, but there was no trace of him. I caught only another whiff of normal food and blood. The old woman walked towards another cab. There was no wood smoke. There weren't any War Mages in the immediate area.
What if he was still falling through the magic?
What if he had landed hundreds of miles away or at our destination and I'd fallen off the bus?
I couldn't stand here all day wondering about it. I lowered the hat on my head and walked, aware that I was drawing stares from another car.
Then I caught the word on the side of the cab the old woman was climbing into.
Şanlıurfa.
It rang a bell. Wasn't this the city that was supposed to be near the ruins?
I turned around, surveying all the tan brick buildings. I felt as if I had stepped into another time, an ancient time, only the cars took me out of the feeling. Clotheslines hung over some alleys, drying out garments that people had hung out. Spires rose above the other buildings in the distance and the sounds of heavier, more distant traffic met my ears. Another airplane sailed overhead, its engines making a high whine that was very clear to me.
“Crap,” I said. There was no way I was going to find Xavier here. At least I was close to our destination and Xavier wasn't dead. If he had died, I would go with him, no matter which way he went. But how did I know he wasn't close to dead or still falling through magic?
Then I remembered that Xavier had followed me to Dad's office that time I stupidly ran off and went looking for him. He had been able to sense me since we had just been Bound. He should be able to find me again or I should be able to find him. I wasn't sure how he'd done it since I hadn't asked at the time, but if it worked before, it had to work again.
I looked inside a building. It looked like an office of some sort, with ladies answering phones and clicking away at computers. This wasn't the place to focus, so I decided on an alley nearby with extra laundry hanging from the lines. It was nice and dark here, almost cool, so I'd be able to focus. I had to try something. Xavier might have landed by now, but he might be too weak to walk or do much of anything else. It was up to me to find him.
I leaned against the ancient tan brick and closed my eyes.
Xavier, I called.
There was nothing. I felt like I was thinking into a void. I wished I had asked how this whole thing worked. Now I was on my own, with no one to ask and no library to consult. The clock was ticking and if I took days to find Xavier, the Underground back home would be vaporized by Thoreau.
Xavier, I called again. I put all my focus into it, not sure if we could even talk to each other like this. I felt amazingly stupid trying to talk to him with my mind, but after he had showed me his memory of Leon's body vanishing, I was starting to believe that anything was possible.
Only the void answered and that empty moment stretched out, long and eternal. But then I felt a flicker of something and my mark—the crossed swords one, not the fiery one Alluna had given me—tingled just a tiny bit.
I almost got jarred out of my state of extreme concentration, but I thought I heard, very faint, Xavier's voice calling my name.
Alyssa. I'm weak.
My mark tingled and remained alive even after I opened my eyes and let them adjust to the light.
My stomach rumbled. I was getting a bit weak myself. I would need to find food very soon or I might be in Xavier's position. I'd feel better once night fell but even then, I would still have to deal with it. Before, I had only needed a blood bag once every couple of days, but now that I was fighting and getting hurt, my hunger was getting more frequent like Trish warned me it would.
I walked out of the alley, hoping for something else, but the crossed swords on my arm tingled as much as ever. I turned to the right and began to walk, but the tingling died.
I stopped.
Was this some kind of hot and cold game? Could my mark be the key to finding Xavier?
Just to check, I turned to the left, in the direction of the spires and the tingling returned. I pushed away my hunger as excitement and relief washed through me. To find Xavier, I would only need to play this game. My question of how Xavier had found me at Dad's office was now answered.
* * * * *
It took a long time for me to find Xavier, to say the least.
The sun got lower and lower in the sky and rush hour traffic filled the old city. I got closer to the twin spires, which turned out to rise from a large, ancient mosque, but Xavier wasn't there, either. My mark told me to keep going, past the historic building and all the way to the other side of the city. Sometimes, if I had an alley to hide me, I ran at my full speed, but every time I finished a sprint, I did so just a tiny bit hungrier and weaker. I had to conserve my energy here.
Or find someone to bite soon.
But I couldn't. The librarian had been one thing. He had tried to take us to the ATC in exchange for cash. The people in this city hadn't done a thing to us. I hadn't even drawn that many stares here. It was a bit different than Cumberland or maybe I just looked like a guy with Xavier's clothes on and my hair tucked in. Besides, biting someone would get the authorities called on me for sure. It was like that everywhere. I wasn't sure if Turkey had something like the ATC or if they'd just deport me but I wasn't going to take the chances.
The mark on my arm was tingling stronger now as I reached the outskirts of the city. The buildings got smaller and farther apart. I was starting to get the idea that Xavier wasn't in the city at all.
After more turning and turning around again, I stopped at a fancy bus station. My mark was tingling very strong here, like this was important, but I still didn't smell Xavier. A new tour bus rolled into the lot with plenty of tourists from all over the world in tow. Their blood smelled very faintly of food and most of them didn't have a scent at all. They were hungry people who had been out at some attraction all day. Only a few smelled like sandwiches.
I stood on the sidewalk, on the other side of a new chain-link fence and watched the tourists disembark. I spotted people from all over the world. One was wearing a Maple Leafs jersey and another had a backpack with a Bahamian flag on the back. They had come from outside the city. It was almost as if—
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