Earthtaker Read online

  Whatever was going to happen after that was anybody’s guess.

  Finally, I stood alone in my cell again, thinking about the task ahead. Briar had ushered out Duke and Luna, then closed the door to the squad room, leaving the holding cell quiet and still. No one remained to try to talk me out of anything, and there was no one to move me forward into the madness on the horizon.

  Just me, and the walls, and the bars.

  In other words, the time was perfect for what I needed to do.

  Standing in the middle of the cell, I closed my eyes and spread my arms wide. I reached out with my mind, as I always did when touching the world around me—the planet with which I was so inextricably linked.

  Focusing my will, I reached for the substance and soul of the Earth, trying to make contact. Once I connected, I could make the rock and dirt and power of the world obey me, breaking me out of my cell with a fissure or earthquake or electrical storm. It was a boundless source of strength, a reservoir of might that had seen me through terrible struggles and freed me from inescapable traps.

  But not this time.

  I reached and found nothing. I called, and there was no reply. It was as if the entire world had gone dead around me.

  Grimacing, I tried again, redoubling my effort. I strained with every iota of will at my command, digging deeper, ever deeper.

  Still, I was cut off. The Earth, which had always been an extension of myself, was closed to me.

  Heart pounding with panic, I fell to my knees. Maybe, if I just got closer to the ground under the floor, I could find the spark that eluded me.

  Hands pressed to the cement, I scrambled to tap the light within the earth…but found only darkness. It was like suddenly being blind, unable to see the vast world around me though I knew it was there.

  All those visions of escape I’d had—they were lost to me now. The Earth that I’d known so well and touched so easily with my mind and soul was just a memory. The planet might as well have been gone altogether for all that I could make contact with it.

  As far as I was concerned, there was just a hole where the world had been, a dark gulf that gave nothing back though I poured everything I had into it.

  “No!” I slumped on my side on the cold cell floor, curling up in a fetal position. “Please, no!”

  Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. Weeks ago, during the war with the Allself and the Terralyzers, my powers had been on the fritz, fading and returning unexpectedly.

  But the loss had never been this complete. Even when my powers had been on the wane, my connection to the Earth had not been severed to this extreme.

  Now, it was like someone had flipped a switch, and everything that was special about me had gone away. Along with my hope of escape.

  Without my powers, I was truly trapped. I was at the mercy of the so-called justice system, caught in a web of seemingly incontrovertible proof.

  And meanwhile, as I cried on the floor, a fake Gaia was out there somewhere, no doubt hard at work doing even more damage to my good name.

  And she was the one with the powers.

  What now? I wondered. What happens now?

  Moments later, I had my answer.

  That was when the chips of cinderblock started popping out of the wall of my cell.

  Chapter 3

  Chik chik chik

  Jumping to my feet, I backed up against the bars, expecting the wall to cave in. Expecting, perhaps, my murderous doppelgänger to charge through and finish me off.

  But nothing of the sort happened. The chips of beige-painted cinderblock just kept popping out of the wall and peppering the floor, a few at a time. For no discernible reason, they just kept coming.

  Chik chik

  Frowning, I walked closer, listening for some sign of what was causing the phenomenon. Still, all I heard was the clicking of the chips on the cement floor.

  There was a window in that wall, but it was cut too high for me to look out and down. The cell was at street level, so there could very well be someone out there in the alley, but I couldn’t get a look at them.

  Briefly, I thought about calling for Briar, but decided against it. I seriously doubted Dark Gaia was coming for me. As powerful as she was, flicking a few cinderblock chips at a time didn’t seem like her style.

  So who was out there doing that, then? At the rate they were going, it was going to take forever to find out.

  Chik chik chik

  I put my hands against the wall and reached out with my senses and mind, trying to feel my way through the cinderblock like I normally would. But my Mother Earth powers were still gone; no signal was getting through.

  Chik chik chik

  My only clue was that the cinderblock chips were popping free in a roughly circular area near the floor, about three feet in diameter, a little to the left of the window. The rest of the wall was intact as ever; only that one circle was losing substance.

  Chik chik chik chik chik

  Suddenly, the rate of chipping increased, and I yanked my hand away. More and bigger chips popped free of the block and scattered on the floor, accumulating quickly in a layer of beige bits. Somehow, the process was picking up speed and force.

  Chik chik chik chik chik chik chik

  Clunk

  Just as I stepped aside, the biggest chunk yet flew out, a piece about the size of my hand…then another. More chunks and chips followed, leaving the circular area more and more pitted.

  Chik chik chik chunk

  It was then that spots of light from the alley outside showed up on the floor. Whoever was working their way through the wall, they’d finally broken through.

  “Who’s out there?” I leaned down, still staying off to the side, and called into the opening. “Who are you?”

  “Damnit!” The voice was muffled. What I heard of it, I didn’t recognize. “This is taking too long!”

  “Hey!” I waved my hand in front of the gap. “I asked who’s there.”

  “Stay back!” hissed the voice. “I’m going to give it all I’ve got!”

  Before I could do more than lean back a little from the opening, the remaining block in the circular section blew inward, blasting shards of wall through a cloud of dust.

  Coughing, I batted at the billowing cloud, staring in the direction of the hole in the wall. Little by little, I was able to see it as the dust cleared—imperfect, ragged-edged, smaller than I’d expected…but a way out.

  “Come on!” said the voice. “Hurry!”

  I glanced over my shoulder. No one was on the other side of the bars yet, but the noise would bring someone soon. Even if Briar dragged his feet on my behalf, he couldn’t ignore the ruckus for long.

  “Let’s go!” snapped the voice.

  I dropped to my hands and knees in front of the hole. It would be a tight fit, but I thought I could just make it.

  Still, I hesitated. Once I crossed that threshold, there would be no turning back.

  Not to mention, I had no idea who was waiting for me on the other side or what was in store for me. All that lay in that direction was the great unknown.

  Though it was true, all that lay in the other direction was seemingly ironclad evidence and an open-and-shut case against me. I couldn’t see any clear path to freedom if I stayed.

  But the hole in the wall was another story.

  Sucking in my breath, I pushed myself into the opening. The broken edges of the cinderblocks dug into my belly and shoulders as I took hold of the outside rim and dragged myself through.

  But then, when I was halfway out, I got stuck. As petite as I was, I still couldn’t quite make it.

  Grunting, I twisted in the hole, fighting to force my way through. At any moment, I expected someone inside the building to grab my legs and haul me back through into the cell.

  Instead, my rescuer in the alley suddenly seized my hands and wrenched me free. I lurched forward, landing on my elbows on the pavement.

  The rest of my body slid out after me, and I rolle
d over on my back. It was then, as I looked up, that I finally saw who was behind my prison break.

  “When did the Earth get to be such a fat-ass?” A woman gazed down at me, looking sarcastic. Though her close-cropped hair was black, the many wrinkles on her face told a different story about her age. “Never thought I’d have to tell a planet to go on a diet, but…”

  “What’s your name?” There was something familiar about her, but not familiar enough to recognize on the spot.

  “Call me Mid.” She reached down to help me up. “And then enough with the small talk. We gotta bounce before the heat comes down, honey.”

  As I got to my feet, I realized just how small Mid was, barely coming up to my breastbone. She was older than I’d thought at first, too. If I’d had to guess, I’d have said she was at least in her mid-80s.

  This was my rescue party? Apparently so. Looking around, I saw no one else in the alley, waiting to do their bit.

  “You’re alone?” I frowned, starting to wonder if I’d made the right decision in coming this far. “Nobody’s helping you?”

  Without warning, she hauled off and smacked me in the chest. “Do I look like I need help?” She smacked me again. “You got a problem with me?”

  I shook my head.

  “Then let’s stop standing around wasting time!” She started down the alley, hobbling fast, and waved for me to follow. “I’m the only rescuer you’ve got, so deal with it.”

  As I followed, her hobble became a trot. She was in pretty good shape for someone in her 80s.

  “I’ve got a car parked around the corner,” she said. “And no, you can’t drive it. Don’t even think about it, sweetheart.”

  I stayed close, looking in every direction for signs of pursuit, listening for sirens. “Where are we going, anyway?”

  “Someplace you haven’t been in a hell of a long time,” she snapped. “And neither have I.”

  I scowled. “Where’s that?”

  “There’s a whole world beyond this shithole,” said Mid. “Let’s go see if you still recognize it.”

  Chapter 4

  It was almost midnight, and the offices of Cruel World Travel/Charmer Investigations were still brightly lit and crowded with people.

  As Mid drove past on the way out of town, I got a good look at the place, peeking through the rear passenger’s side window though I was supposed to stay down in the back seat. I knew I was taking a risk, but I had to do it.

  For all I knew, this might be the last time I saw the place or any of the people inside.

  Mid slowed down the slightest bit as we passed, just enough to let me take it all in. I asked her to slow the silver Toyota Corolla even more or just stop, it wouldn’t attract attention…but she ignored me and kept rolling at the same speed.

  So I took what I could get. Through the office front windows, I watched the crowd—the Council of Landkind—as they shouted at each other, arguing passionately. Fingers were pointed, voices were raised, fists were pounded on desks.

  Given the circumstances and the lateness of the hour, I thought I could guess what they were fighting about in there. I didn’t have to read lips to know they were trying to decide what to do about me and my arrest.

  If I could have told them about the breakout, it would’ve changed the whole direction of the meeting.

  “I hate to just leave them like this.” My heart pounded as I said those words. “They’re my friends.”

  “Oh boo hoo,” said Mid. “You’re on the lam now, honey. Get over it.”

  As I watched, Ashanti raised her hands over her head and shouted for attention, calming the crowd. She made a grim statement, and then Duke joined in, and Nephelae said something, too.

  We were just about past the building when the door swung open, and Luna looked out. Her eyes fixed on our car, following it as it drifted up the street…and for a moment, I could’ve sworn she looked right at me.

  But then, she turned to look in the other direction, down the street, and the moment of imagined contact was gone. Disappointment washed over me as the distance between us grew. As the distance between all of us grew.

  Would I ever see any of them again? Or were they gone, and my old life over for good?

  As just another person, a woman with no more power over the Earth than any human being off the street, I wasn’t confident that I’d ever make my way back there again. But maybe, someday, I could still make contact again, even if it was just over the phone or by letter.

  And maybe then, I could thank them for their love, apologize for leaving the way I did, and tell them one more thing besides all that.

  Maybe then, I could finally tell them goodbye.

  Chapter 5

  Mid drove west through the night, squinting into the darkness from behind her gold wire-framed spectacles. Leaning forward, she looked for all the world like just another old lady at the wheel—but her hands were steady, and her technique was sound. The Corolla sailed down the road at a constant speed, never swimming in the lane or veering from oncoming traffic. As unsettled as I felt given the craziness in my life, I never for a second felt uncertain about the old woman’s command of the vehicle.

  Everything else about Mid was still a question mark, though…and so far, she hadn’t volunteered to fill in the blanks. In fact, she seemed perfectly content to drive on in silence, keeping her secrets to herself.

  Somewhere past Pittsburgh, though, as we rolled along the Pennsylvania Turnpike toward the border of Ohio, I decided it was finally time to get some answers.

  “So, who are you, Mid?” I narrowed my eyes as I stared at the little old lady in the driver’s seat. “How did you manage to take down the wall of my jail cell?”

  “I’m like you,” said Mid. “You, the way you used to be, anyway.”

  “The way I used to be?”

  “Before you lost your powers, honey.” Mid flickered her fingers on the steering wheel. “Back in the good old days of a couple hours ago.”

  I frowned, trying to parse what she’d just told me. “You’re Landkind, then?”

  “Nope.” Mid shook her head.

  “A Groundswell Crossbreed? A Terralyzer?”

  Mid clucked in dismissal. “You think too small.”

  My frown deepened. “A goddess, maybe? A nymph or a Hyade?”

  “Try an actress.” Mid shrugged. “And a singer. Though those days are long gone now for me.”

  We slowed down for a toll booth, then, and I waited until we were through it to keep up the questioning. “An actress?” Something about what she’d said had set off alarm bells in my mind. “What name did you go by?”

  “The same one I was given at birth.” She glanced over and gave me a quick wink. “Mid Silvergone.”

  When I heard the full name, a light bulb went off in my head. Finally, I knew why she’d seemed so familiar.

  When Ellie Grenoble, another elderly resident of Confluence, had been killed—murdered the same way Imogene Parker had been, suffocated with dirt—she’d left behind three full scrapbooks in her home. One of them had featured page after page of photos and clippings recounting the career of the one and only Mid Silvergone, whom I’d never heard of before.

  Only now, she was right there beside me, steering into the night—and she apparently had powers like the ones I’d had most of my life.

  “I still don’t understand,” I said. “How did you get to be how I used to be?”

  “Oh, you know.” Mid glanced at me sideways. “Girl spontaneously comes to life with a physical age of 22. Girl discovers she’s Mother Earth in human form. Girl manifests powers to control the substance and forces of the planet.”

  I reeled as her words sank in. “You’re telling me you’re an avatar of the world like I am?”

  “Correct.”

  “But that’s not possible. Earth’s avatars never overlap.”

  “Bullshit,” snapped Mid. “Who says so?”

  “It’s what I was taught.” Duke, my personal “moon” and g
uardian, had done the teaching, but I left him out for now. “The old avatar leaves before the new one arrives in the world.”

  “Then how come I never left?” asked Mid.

  “Maybe you’re not who you say you are,” I suggested. “Maybe you just have a line of B.S. and some tricks up your sleeve.”

  Mid chuckled. “You know who I am, sweetheart? Who I really am? I’m one of the few people in the world who’s on your side right now. Maybe the only one.”

  “Meaning what?” I wished I had my powers back, so I could force the car to stop and get the whole truth out of Mid. “What do you know about the woman who framed me for murder? Why did you break me out and help me get away?”

  “Because the whole world is against you right now, or about to be,” said Mid. “And if someone doesn’t save you, then you can’t save them.”

  “Them who?” I asked, frustrated at the way she doled out bits and pieces of information. “Who am I supposed to save?”

  Mid Silvergone cast a grim look across the seat, suffused with an eerie glow from the dim lights of the dashboard. For a moment, she looked like something much more than a little old lady with a bag of tricks.

  “Humanity,” she said coldly. “If you can’t save them, they will be wiped from the face of the Earth very soon, and forever.”

  Chapter 6

  Mid might as well have dropped the mic at a rap concert. After announcing the bombshell about humanity being wiped out, she dropped the subject and pulled over at a roadside rest stop.

  “Stay close,” she said as we got out of the car. “If you sense anything suspicious, come and get me right away.”

  “Why?” I asked. “Is someone following us?”

  Mid shrugged. “If not now, they will be soon. The whole planet will be hunting us.”

  “Because the whole planet wants to get rid of humanity?” I closed my door and followed her up the sidewalk toward the central building. “Are you sure about that? It’s not something the Earth has ever told me she wanted to do.”