Smoke Rising: Book III

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

The first thing I see are the miles and miles of dilapidated city. Skyscrapers have fallen over like knocked down trees, rivers consuming some of the land and the jungle taking back others. The next thing I see are the miles of grasslands, mountains, and rivers. I'm beginning to wonder if there's any civilization left on this continent, but then we finally arrive above a shining city in the center of a patch of green.

The palace is perched on top of a cliff between two waterfalls that thunder down into a river that is flanked with stilt homes. But the homes don't look broken down or neglected. They rise on wooden posts several feet in the air, and are made of thick wood, stones, and an arrangement of windows made of glass. As we land at the edge of the city, I take in the massive amount of people moving through the buildings like one organism.

The colors the people wear are bright and beautiful, the designs along dresses and shirts all mirroring jungle animals and plants. and the people look healthy, fed and strong. Some ride horses, some have scooters, and a lot have bikes that pull trolly carts behind them. People smile and wave, and a group of dark skinned children come running up to the fence that guards the landing strip. They smile and laugh and wave as we exit the plane, and I sense their energy. Most of the children are Casters, but a few are human.

"Do you see it?" Nicholi asks, stepping down beside me. "The energy?"

He showed me once how to see the energy that runs through universe like rivers and webs. The glowing blue halos that pool around Casters. But that's not what I see here, it's what I feel. The warmth that clings to each child.

"There are humans," I say, remembering Mateo telling me that they are more sympathetic and kind to humans than most countries.

Nicholi puts a hand on my shoulder. "Open your eyes. They aren't fully human."

I do as he says, feeing the energy flowing through me and looking for the strings that run over my skin. The blue glow pools around me so intensely, I have to squint. And I look back at the children. Some of them are surrounded by it almost as much as Nicholi and me. Others have barely a dim glow cast around their bodies. One little girl only has it around her hands.

"They are more kind to half-bloods than they are humans."

Humans have a glow too, but only in small flashes. It appears like a crystal twinkling in the sunlight. It's at its brightest when their hands are in the water or their feet touch the sand.

I see a young girl about Ella's age picking up a pile of books she dropped from the ground, and every time her hand brushes along the dirt path, there's a flash of blue along her fingertips.

We find our way through the city, the children following us close behind until they trail off into the surrounding city. I watch as they weave in between two large stilt homes, one dark brown and grey wood and another painted a bright yellow and white. In between the two houses there's a large tree with vines draping it, and the children climb up, reminding me of the vision Evelyn showed me of the first Caster. These children don't use magic to grow the vines, but they do have an natural speed and ability to climb, almost as if they were raised by monkeys.

"It's a common blood power here," Mateo says, noticing my fascination. "They can move faster and their muscles are biologically equipped for climbing at a young age."

"What other blood powers are common?"

"Plant growers," Mateo points out a man growing an arrangement of brightly colored flowers at a nearby stall. "Stone shifters," he gestures towards the woman moving two large, flat stones up and over to make a table along the riverside before setting a picnic basket down on top of it. "And less common but still native to the region," he points to two little boys walking beside a group of goats. "Animal persuasion." One of the little boy flicks his hand towards a corner in the road, and the goats follow the movements.