TFS: Burnt Earth

Connor

Brody just dumped the big oaf on us. He literally walked into our room, deposited Barry, and made one not so simple demand, “Keep him away from Tyler.”

“Um…” Brody leaves before I can even finish my sentence. Rude.

“The fuck’s going on?” Molly barks.

Barry scowls. Not gonna lie, it looks pretty weird on his face. Somehow increases the depth of his dimples too. Kind of want to stick my fingers in both sides and see how far the holes goes.

I genuinely don’t mind Barry. He isn’t manipulative. He isn’t smart enough for that. Stupid is easy to appreciate. Why? It rarely disagrees. This tree trunk fucker has a heart as giant as his biceps, and it’s nearly impossible to dislike him. Even Molly doesn’t get throw down fever in his general proximity.

The problem with Barry is an inherited one. His creator made him what he is—a shield. Barry has the ability to block the visibility of magic within his sphere of influence. This isn’t deliberate the way Murphy does it, where he uses the water element to nullify powers. Barry has a giant force field always in an on position. It’s innate, so it doesn’t give him freaky opal eyes either.

This worries the paranoid Tribunal since the unknown is threatening, therefore must be eliminated. Barry’s managed to stay out of their crosshairs because they couldn’t see him to shoot him. It’s bigger than just Barry though. He shields everyone around him too. The Tribunal cut out the root of the contagion by exterminating the Solathair converting Barry, but they weren’t able to eliminate Barry, as they couldn’t find the fucker. Now he’s been hand delivered by the transitional Solathair they’re wooing. Our girl Sheyla. Problematic to the max.

Them courting her seems suspect, after the way we’ve been ordered to disengage. It deviates from the standard process I’ve witnessed over the last fifty years, which is to drag them in, kicking and screaming if need be, make a decision, then exterminate or integrate. Sorry. They call it an invitation. Really, it’s a summons that can’t be ignored. The specifics of their decision-making are a Sinsear Senate thing I never got around to learning about. Murphy didn’t invite me to another session after I was so disgusted by the first one. You remember that, right? Four humans. Four globe-faced Solathairs. Five exterminations. Yeah, not a great time.

It’s entirely possible this is all down to Shane. The others try, albeit unsuccessfully, to pretend he isn’t the one leading this circus. He is. Except the pressure isn’t over the element. I’ve seen the Tribunal treat fire elementals with the same disregard as any other element. Sheyla’s definitely getting the red carpet. From the Tribunal. From my team. From the Keanes. From the Connells. From everyone but Molly, apparently.

“Where’s your sidekick?” Molly prods. “You know, the hot pile of garbage?”

“With the boss people,” he reports.

“You landed in here with us because…?”

“Well, I’m guessing you’re not escorts, so that makes you guards,” he reasons. “I’m presently undecided whether you’re keeping me safe or plain keeping me.”

I lift a brow. “But why are you here?”

He sighs. “Big happenings at Hotel Looking Glass. Brody was taking Sheyla in a transport, and I just sort of…tagged along.”

This is bad. Hotel Looking Glass is right in Rebel camp. Fuck, is she joining Team Rebel? “You weren’t concerned tagging along was putting you right in the lion’s den?”

“I wasn’t thinking that far ahead.”

“Clearly not,” Molly snaps. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I realize that, but she shouldn’t be here either.”

I frown. “Why is she here?”

“Not sure,” he admits. “Brody grabbed her. I joined them. That’s all I know.”

Brody must’ve been ordered to retrieve her. He wouldn’t risk bringing her to Sheelin without being told to, unless she’s in danger greater out there than the danger in here. Entirely possible, given her history of flame-induced misfortune. “Was she in trouble?” I press. “Was someone after her?”

“Those two daughters of Tayte’s were giving her a hard time,” Barry informs us.

Tayte’s the leader of the Rebels. His son, Matthew, owns Hotel Looking Glass. They use it as a place to help Sumairs. Well, that’s what Matthew uses it for. Tayte uses it to rally troops. As a Water Sumair, Matthew’s specialization allows him to slow the energy drain process, prolonging the life expectancy of the taken energy. Tayte’s power is far more invasive. His ability, also offered by the water element, allows him to suck the powers out of people. Basically, he’s a sponge. In Sheyla’s case, having him around might very well have guaranteed her a full human life. While that explains why she was there, it doesn’t explain why Brody imported her illegally to our foreign land, unless Tayte was planning something. As leader of the Rebels, he has access to forces much more advanced than those of regular Sumairs, and he has the numbers to prove formidable.

The Tribunal claims the Rebels aren’t a threat, so the competition is somewhat healthy, but I’d wager they’re being overconfident and under-precautionary. For a group as paranoid as they are, it surprises me they didn’t eradicate the Rebels the instant they learned about them. Instead, they’ve merely treated them as a curiosity. Classic fuckwit response.

“I don’t know why they don’t just squash them like the bugs they are,” Molly complains.

“They don’t feel threatened enough by them to bother,” I offer.

“We’ve seen them squash things just for the sake of squashing them,” she volleys.

“It’s a soap opera,” Barry announces.

Her eyes widen. “The fuck you mean?”

“The whole thing is like a soap opera,” Barry repeats. “You have Matthew, who was converted by Dreyna, who then converted Matthew’s father Tayte out of guilt for what she’d done to Matthew. Then there’s the sisters. Those horrible, dirty sisters. One’s a serious write off, and the other’s a fistful of write offs. No, really. They made her in a Petri dish. She’s nuttier than a shithouse rat now.”

“The audience is growing,” Molly persists. “They’re setting up to be a problem.”

“You’re a dark side of the moon sort of gal, aren’t you?” Barry unnecessarily points out.

He has no clue how spot on he is. Unfortunately, she’s not wrong. They’re absolutely a problem. What’s that mean for Sheyla though? Why’s she here? Is she safe?