Awakening - The Last Science #1

Chapter 15 - The Heart of a Leader - II

  "You got it," Aaron answered cheerfully. He plopped himself down and began to cast similar spells, though with much less skill or speed.

  "Teaching your followers, though, I see," Rachel commented as Cinza stood and brushed the soil off her legs. Even standing straight, the girl's eyeline barely reached up to Rachel's chest. If Rachel hadn't seen her in action, it would be difficult to take her seriously.

  As it were, reminders of Cinza's prowess and her stable of followers were at every turn. Makoto was quietly shadowing them through the camp, Rachel noticed after a few minutes, and was ready to strike at any moment. Meanwhile, familiar faces such as Morton Pollock or Nate Price gave her friendly glances as she passed. Cinza greeted everyone as they passed, asking about their day. More personal questions were quickly whispered out of Rachel's earshot. Rachel was regarded with confusion—not hostility or distrust, exactly, but merely out of place, like a person who'd stumbled into the wrong room and had no particular reason to be there.

  "The company I keep is naturally suspicious of outsiders, I'm afraid," Cinza replied lightly. She didn't sound too concerned. "Given our present situation, can you fault them some healthy paranoia?"

  "I guess not," Rachel said, watching them carefully. She was trying to determine how many followers Cinza had precisely. After realizing there must be several more unaccounted for by the number of tents and belongings present, she gave up. "How many are you?"

  "Just eleven or so, actually," Cinza replied, startling her. "I trust you, Rachel, though my friends warn me against it. I believe you are still the best suited to lead us, as much as I'd prefer the position myself. I think we could form a great partnership, if you're willing. I would not have invited you here otherwise."

  "Only eleven?"

  "The cult moniker does drive away potential newcomers," Cinza said with a touch of irritation. "This is no cult, though."

  "You have a pretty strong devotion to a single person, though," Rachel pointed out. "Wouldn't that qualify you as a cult?"

  "So does the whole of Christianity. Is that a cult?" Cinza replied. "Our goddess walks among us, helps us, saves us. If we are a cult, then we are one with a justifiable and decent figure to worship. Not that any of us worship her exactly," she added. "I don't think she'd much like that, and none of us are particularly inclined toward it."

  "So why do all this?"

  "All what?"

  "Dress the way you do, live out here in the wilderness, all of this."

  Cinza smiled. "Because we are preparing for the next world."

  She laughed. "That's exactly what a cult would say."

  "Fair enough, but it's the truth. The Emergence has begun, and the end of the world is not far beyond it. When that happens, my people will already know how to live in a society where the magical and the mundane are intertwined."

  "Do you really think the world will end?"

  "I think that Ryan put it best. The old world will end. A new one is coming. We don't know what that new world will be like. It's already occurring in small-scale here in Rallsburg, though Omega's interference is throwing everything into disarray. But even without this mess, do you really think we could just integrate ourselves into the modern world without incident? That society would take us in and continue mostly unchanged?" Cinza held out a hand, and a bottle of water flew through the air of its own accord into her grasp. She took a deep drink before continuing. "It'll be chaos."

  Rachel sighed. "I hope you're wrong."

  "I would love to be wrong, but I know better by now."

  They passed a small blanket laid out near what seemed to be a steam generator, wired up to something inside the cabin. Rachel raised an eyebrow, and Cinza shrugged.

  "You didn't think we'd just give up on modern comforts, did you? We have cell phones and internet here, same as the rest of the town." She pointed, and sure enough, there was a small satellite dish mounted on the roof. "It's not a great connection, but it's enough. It helps that we can make power from almost nothing," she added with a grin.

  Two yellow eyes emerged from the forest near them, slinking around a tree trunk. They were followed by the largest mountain lion Rachel had ever seen, bronze furred and with thick killing muscles. It eyed her with something that seemed like distaste. Cinza beckoned to it, and it approached, allowing her to scratch its ears affectionately.

  "Have you not met Scrappy yet?" Cinza asked, obviously enjoying Rachel's consternation.

  "What?" Rachel asked, her eyes locked on the cat's and not daring to break contact.

  "Natalie's favorite pet. Only because she couldn't find a wolf yet, I think." Cinza slid her hand across its thick smooth fur a few more times before it slinked away again. It curled up on the blanket in front of the generator, which was emanating heat like a furnace.

  "Does Natalie come out here?"

  "Yes, every so often. She managed to find us despite the measures we put in place. Don't worry, we make sure she's safe. Though truth be told, I think she's probably better suited to keeping us safe these days," Cinza replied. "That girl has power. Way more than all of us."

  Rachel frowned. "She's only twelve. How could she be so powerful?"

  "I've had a few theories about that," Cinza said. "Perhaps it's simply the length of time since she awakened. Natalie was one of the very first, was she not?"

  "Yes."

  "The rest of us came after the Gods and the first few. We were random, or we were chosen by the council and allowed through the process," she added pointedly. Rachel ignored it. "Natalie and her contemporaries, Kendra and Hector, have been routinely able to perform feats far exceeding what we would believe possible. Natalie just doesn't use them much. Or perhaps she doesn't use them where we can see her, since she prefers to spend her time out here in the forests with her friends."

  "But they were powerful immediately, not over time. It's been a year and the rest of us aren't nearly to that level."

  "So they have some other secret." She shrugged. "If we can find out the truth, then all the better, but I don't lose sleep over it. What would worry me is any others with such power that we've never discovered."

  "It's not likely," Rachel said. "I'm pretty sure I've tracked down everyone actively using magic."

  "Yet you cannot track Omega."

  "...You're right," Rachel admitted. "Maybe there are more I've missed, who can't be tracked in the same way he can't."

  "I wouldn't worry about it," Cinza said, patting her arm. "If they were going to cause us real trouble, I'm sure they would have shown themselves by now." She took a few steps in front of Rachel and pulled open the cabin door. Makoto was still lurking behind, but did not follow them. "After you, glorious leader."