The Dusk of Dawn

Chapter Six- The Tide (3)

He glanced at himself and noticed tons of chains wrapped around his limbs and neck, while the girl on the opposite side only had a delicate-looking iron band around her left wrist. Her black hair covered her face, glistening with reddish-brown tints in the sunlight. He knew that it was still made of iron and impossible for a nimble-looking girl like her to rip it off the wall, but the difference in the number of chains was still quite significant. Ugh, WHY?! He complained to himself. 

Her hair reached up to just a little past her shoulder. Her gaze felt quite uncomfortable on Jackson, just like the feeling Driya’d given him when she’d suspected he was the one who stole ham from their storage.

Hmm. I wonder where she has gone.

“Who are you?” He asked, adjusting to the cuff’s weight and lifting his head up. “And why are your chains…” The girl opposite him looked mildly surprised, but otherwise, there weren't any other expressions.

“You’re asking why I only have one chain?” She asked, and Jackson nodded lightly. “Because those dumbheads know normal chains won’t work on me. This band has got ice frozen inside, it repels my powers.”

“Powers?”

“Yeah,” She pointed to her left shoulder. Jackson just noticed now that there were some weird, glowing blue swirling patterns engraved on her skin. “I think mine is called ‘Tide’.”

Jackson frowned. “What—”

“Why are you here?” The girl interrupted instead. “What’s your power? Where’s your mark? Hmmm. Can yours make you really strong? That’s why they put so many chains on you?”

Jackson hesitated. What is this idot with an i in the middle talking about? “I don’t have any,” He confessed. “We were just voyaging, we needed to stop for resources, so we came here. But then I accidentally broke into a cave and the soldiers took us down. Then I woke up here.”

“I can’t believe someone would want to come here,” She said coldly, waving her free arm around the prison. “This place is a prison. Not just here— the whole jungle. If I were you, I’d go as far as I can in the opposite direction and see if I can get this place out of my memories.”

“What’s ‘Tide’?” Jackson insisted on the question he was going to ask before.

“One of the powers Abronze Lasbender left, I guess,” The girl shrugged. “You know. The Stones.”

Jackson blinked and made a scrunched look with his face. “What stones?” He asked finally.

The girl raised her brows. “You really don’t know?” She teased. “Alright. You know Lasbender, right? When he was executed, he left his powers behind in the world.” 

She paused. 

“I just found out about these last week, I read the f*******n book of the Pope’s— then I got caught. Turns out it’s not exactly the power to affect other’s life or death straight away. It’s different powers that apply to something about nature pheromones or some others that weren’t quite mentioned in the book. Mine, for example, is to affect tides. Also, the power to heal wounds and immunity to physical attacks.” She squinted and smiled a little.

“There’s this dumbheaded guard who tried piercing me with a spear, but it went right through my chest, like stabbing water.” She rolled her eyes. “Really. If it weren’t for this rock with ice frozen inside I’d have escaped.”

That was why the tides are acting weirdly in Luana again, Jackson realized, remembering what Fluffy explained. It’s not because Abronze Lasbender returned— it’s because part of his power was awoken.

“But why can that stone with ice inside trap you?” Jackson demanded.

“Ice freezes water. This band sorts of freezes my powers,” She shrugged. “But what are you here for, then? How could they be interested in someone without the powers?”

“Who’s they?” Jackson asked. The Pope? Queen Kumira? Oh— JEREMY??

“I don’t know,” The girl shook her head. “I do know it’s none of the four rulers… And we’re in this special prison because we’re supposed to be handed over. I also know that they’re hunting down people with the power of the Stones, so I guessed that that’s who you were before you said you’re not.”

“Wait— so if someone tries to stab you…”

“That would do me no harm. The blade would go straight past.”

“Are you from the Flow Jungle?” He asked.

She shook her head. “No,” She said. “I don’t know where I’m from.”

“Oh. Well, I guess that we’ll have to figure out a way to get out of—”

Both of them flinched at a sudden roar that emitted from somewhere above their prison. The frightened cries and howls of the pain of guards stumbling across, then there was another roar—

“You BENDANS! No one is holding ME prisoner! You’re going to be SORRY!”

Jackson sighed. Arghhhh…. That idot with an i in the middle is acting insane again.

But the girl sitting opposite him looked quite delighted. “Hey! Whoever’s up there! Can you get us out?” She yelled towards the nets.

There was a pause. Then a series of footsteps and Driya’s head popped out over their prison.

“Oh! There’s Bu Hao! And… Who are you?” She asked, tilting her head at the girl.

“Kitty,” She grinned. “Care to get the band off?” She raised her arm and brandished the rock. 

Driya shrugged and pulled her bow, then aimed. “Alright…” She breathed. “Needle through water…” She fired the arrow. With a twang, it raced down the length of the cave and hit the rock with such force that it broke in a single blow. The cuff clanked. After breaking open the band, the arrow went right through Kitty’s arm and stabbed onto the bricks beneath, leaving a light ripple on her skin.

Jackson raised his head, Driya didn’t see that. She was back battling more soldiers and put her full focus into it. Jackson squinted at the battles above. Driya’s skills were already quite excellent for a Luana islander, but still no match for him, of course.

He looked back and noticed that Kitty stood up (weird name. Why would someone name her that?) and squinted at the sky-hole. Suddenly, she looked at Jackson and her right hand melted.