The Carnelian Fox Page 14

  “No, I’ve done alright with these guys so far. I’d rather have a Gem that fits my team well than go grab anything…”

  “I’m guessing you’re one of those Primes that neglects their incoming mail?”

  Yeah, that big red number proclaiming how many pieces of spam my eBand was carting around was a long-ignored feature. All companies trying to sell you the next incredible thing you couldn’t live without. That and constant updates from boards you didn’t care about anymore.

  “Sam, the government passed a regulation to say you must have a full team to win your last points. And you must maintain a full team for at least two months afterwards or they deduct those points from your total. Too many people borrow or hire Gems to get a quick pass, then don’t live up to their expectations. I’m very sorry, but unless you add a Gem to your team soon you won’t be passing today.”

  “I’m gutted.” I held onto the wave of emotion, not wanting to cry into my eBand.

  “It’s all right, you just have one more to go.” Eli’s voice was a comfort, stopped me threatening to punch the ugly off-white of the lodge wall. Lucy still wasn’t back, but I was here sooner than expected after being turned away from the challenge. She couldn’t complain that I’d called him to vent.

  “I know but I was excited to pass today. And it’s my birthday in a few days so I was hoping to have a dual celebration. I just feel like crap now, set back again.” I tried not to be too whiney, it wasn’t quite the end of the world.

  “How about we go out for a walk later and see if we can find anything you might want on your team?” I couldn’t blame him for the apprehension bleeding through, I was as likely to kick off at him for trying to help than thank him. But I wasn’t thinking about that.

  “You’re coming today? That’s awesome! I mean, I might let you tag along while I go catch a cool new Gem. If you can tear yourself away from whatever cutesy play they’ve got going on here.”

  “Looks like you’re on your own then, you didn’t mention the theatre was an option.”

  “Just get yourself over here, I miss you, okay?” I don’t know how I dared say it, maybe it was coming clean with Lucy about everything that had gone on before I met her. Or I was desperate for one good thing in my life for once, even if I had to force it to happen.

  “I… miss you too.” His quiet admission made my heart soar. Part of me worried that I was bothering him with my calls, that he would think I was trying to grab a fistful of his success or use him for his knowledge.

  “Then get your undersized butt on your oversized bat and come meet me, doofus… Oh, hang on, Lucy’s back. I have to go. We’re at the lodge, okay?”

  As we said our goodbyes, Lucy waltzed into the room, her necklace now sported a full complement of six pink capsules.

  “Wow, you got a good haul today.” I said, pulling a bag of crisps from my backpack. This stupid situation was too frustrating for me to eat a proper lunch.

  “Look! You’ll love this, Sam.”

  Lucy summoned one of her new Gems and I gasped.

  “Oh my gosh! That is absolutely freaking gorgeous,” I gushed, abandoning my snack to go stroke the fur of the baby pink fox. It was the same size that Finn had been when he was a cub, but with more of a long-furred, heart-shaped ruff ringing its neck. It pushed its muzzle against my hand, and I melted on so many levels.

  “Finn might like her,” Lucy said with a flutter of her eyelashes.

  “You’re lucky I don’t kidnap her right now, what a beauty.” The fox pressed her nose to my finger again, then circled around to return to Lucy. Such a good girl. “What else did you get?”

  “Oh, these. Not Gems that would catch your eye, Sam, but they’re coming into fashion. It cost me everything I had spare to buy them.”

  Them? Did she mean the fox and another new Gem? Because last I counted, she already had four. It sunk in as a curly-haired poodle and a miniature pony materialised to take up the rest of the floor space.

  “Everything? What did you trade, Lucy?”

  “All my money except a few credits to live on until we receive our next wage, that crocodile Gem that attacked me yesterday, and Rolo. Even then I had to barter them down a little to get all three, but I’m a good negotiator.”

  “Are you serious?” I leapt to my feet and faced my bed. I couldn’t even look at her. “You traded in a Gem that saved your life to get a bloody poodle? No offence, poodle.”

  “You’re suggesting I should keep an oozing corrosive Gem on my show team?” The contempt dripping from her comment made a scream well up in my stomach.

  “I’m suggesting that he evolved to save your damn ungrateful ass, and you threw him away the next day. What kind of monster does that?” I couldn’t turn around, or stop my hands clenching into fists.

  “This is a game, Sam. You want me to put in a poor performance for no good reason? I have the opportunity to do well with these Gems, don’t pretend you’ll never change yours. I’m not trying to be mean, and it isn’t as though I don’t appreciate what Rolo did. He’ll be better off doing something he’s more suited to. Travis & Chloe’s will put him up for sale by the end of the day and I know that it will delight some other Prime to have him. We should be happy for them both.”

  “No, I can’t do this.” I pushed through her sickeningly pink herd and grabbed the door handle.

  “Sam?”

  “I can’t deal with you.”

  I slammed the door behind me and bolted out of the lodge. The stifling air nauseated me, so did Lucy’s disgusting attitude. She’d handed Dew off to me, sure it was crappy of her, but she knew I’d appreciate him and make a decent Prime. But to sell Rolo to a random store like that, where another Prime might not buy him for months. Even then he could end up the property of someone cruel or incompetent.

  I’d heard of situations like his before. Where a Gem evolved early because their Prime or a teammate was in danger. They were always the ones that cared the most, were desperate to help in any way possible. Rolo didn’t have the freedom to choose what type he became. Shows had a notorious bias towards candy types, but even more bias against corrosives. It would be a career killer for her to run a half corrosive Gem in her team. But it wouldn’t have taken much for her to hesitate awhile to consider his fate.

  I pulled up the town map on my eBand to look for Travis & Chloe’s. I was planning on using my winnings from the doubles contest as a backup to buy a new cub if I couldn’t find one with Eli later. That or put it towards a half-decent eBand. But I didn’t use it for either.

  As I explained why I was asking for a Gem they hadn’t had time to process for sale yet, I knew in my heart I couldn’t keep him. I wouldn’t make that poor boy travel with someone that didn’t appreciate him.

  It took the last scrapings of my cash; an adolescent Gem was expensive. But I didn’t regret it for a second, he was beyond brave and deserved to partner with a Prime that would adore him. I knew just who that would be. She’d need to register him as a pet for now, until she got her own qualifications.

  Then I went to the vidlink booth to ring my little sister.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Sam?” I tried to scrub the dried tears of frustration from my cheeks, I hadn’t realised that Eli would get here so soon.

  I slumped in the vidlink booth with my knees pulled up. I’d got off from the call with Zoe fifteen minutes ago, but still hadn’t mustered the energy to move.

  “What’s going on? Lucy said you kicked off and stormed out.” He shifted me over so he could press himself into the booth next to me, it wasn’t designed for two people, but he didn’t take up much space.

  “Because she’s a psychopath,” I replied. Possibly I owed him a touch more detail…

  “But we knew that anyway,” he said with a half-smile. He saw what she was like. “So, why are you hiding in here?”

  “I don’t know if I can be okay with her ever again.” I shook my head and rubbed my palm over the itchiness on my cheeks.
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br />   “What did she say to you?” His entire demeanour switched - his goofy grin replaced by an air of unspoken apprehension.

  “Do you think Gems are just game pieces?” I whispered into my chest, convinced that I was overreacting. That he wouldn’t get why I was so distraught by what that girl had done.

  “What. No. Obviously not, I’d die before letting anything happen to my team. I… I guess I’d do whatever it took to make sure they were safe.” He sounded so distant; like he was running the same thing through his head that happened in mine. I tried to imagine treating Finn like that, selling him off if he didn’t fit the strategy that year. Or trading in Sev for a different type of mink. I daren’t go anywhere with Charlotte in my mind.

  “I called you up after Lucy got attacked to tell you we were okay, but I didn’t tell you that Rolo evolved to protect her. He took down an adolescent crocodile to save her, before I even got there. She would have died without him, Eli. But… he turned corrosive…”

  “She didn’t?” He looked like he’d swallowed a lump of corrosion himself, and his fingers wandered to his capsule holsters. Half his team were corrosive, it was basically an affront to his Gems for her to ditch one because of their typing.

  “Yeah, traded him and the croc in to fill the rest of her slots. The next day. After he did that for her. And trust me, I get she couldn’t run him, it just feels so disrespectful.”

  He draped an arm over my shoulders and pulled me against his chest, like I would object.

  “What can you say about that?” We curled into each other in the narrow booth. “I realised she wasn’t the kindest person I’d ever met but… How do you just give them up like that?”

  “My hands were shaking,” I admitted. “Still are. But I went to get him. I got him back.”

  “You got a sixth Gem?” His voice drifted, and I looked up to figure out why.

  “No, I’m not sure how long I’ll be with Lucy, but it wouldn’t be fair to force him to be around her. Plus, I have Dew already and I need more utility. Yeah, that’s the dumbest thing ever seeing as I need another Gem to pass my last challenge, but I’m trying to be more of a planner. I’d be the crappy one if I only ran him until I got a new teammate.”

  “No, I understand that, but what are you doing with him?” The moment had passed, and I didn’t crave the assurance of a hug anymore. I was more than happy to stay in this spot for the rest of the night if he let me though.

  “My little sister is always begging me to catch her a Gem. It wouldn’t cost her as much to get a licence if she goes in with one. After that awesome guy fought off a wild Gem way tougher than him for a Prime that didn’t give a damn about him, I know he’ll look after Zoe.”

  “Perfect,” Eli said, shifting in the meagre space so he could see my entire face. “Everyone’s happy. Except you with an incomplete team, I suppose?”

  “Well, I didn’t want to miss out on our walk. I’ve been looking forward to it ever since a challenge master turned me away from finishing my lifetime goal and I found out my friend is a horrendous person.”

  “Okay, but before we go, open your birthday present.” Eli fished around in the backpack he’d ditched at the side of the booth and pulled out a mug-sized box covered with perfect, crisp wrapping paper.

  “Oh wow, you didn’t have to get me anything.” I took it in wonder, twitching at the ribbon and desperate to rip it off. “It’s not my birthday for like four days though, I should wait.”

  “Don’t make me open it for you, unwrapping is the best bit.” He was joking but fiddling with his hoodie strings at the same time. Him being nervous made me nervous to see it. What if I didn’t like what he’d picked?

  I prepared the whole ‘I love it’ speech and teased the ribbon apart. Beneath the red and gold wrapping paper was a plain, unbranded box. No sneaky clue before I lifted the lid and…

  “Oh my life… are you serious right now?”

  A blue and grey capsule. Water and corrosive. Just like Veil.

  “Scan him in, I haven’t claimed him, so you don’t have to accept a transfer.” Eli watched me with hopeful eyes and a smug little grin. As far as gifts went, he’d nailed it. And he knew.

  “I can’t just take him.” I floundered; this was too much.

  “You didn’t, he’s a present.”

  “Okay, I won’t need any more convincing. If you aren’t sure, this is your last chance…”

  “Scan the thing, Sam. Before I steal your eBand and do it for you.”

  I picked up the grey and blue capsule and pressed my scan button. The Gem’s details sprung up on my screen. Stag cub, water and corrosive, same trait as his dad and with a similar stat spread.

  I don’t understand how a smile that size fitted on my face.

  “This is incredible, thank you so much. You don’t even know how much this means to me. I owe you one, present or not. If you need someone to help carry you through another doubles match, I’ll be right there.” I slotted in the last member of my team to my wristlet, admiring the spread of colours around the band.

  “I can think of another way you can pay me back,” he said coyly. That piqued my interest, if it involved taking my bra off, I wouldn’t say no.

  “Oh really? What are you suggesting?” I asked, throat running dry as he leaned in.

  “You can go win your last points,” he whispered with a wicked grin, then clambered out of the booth. Damn tease.

  “There’ll still be chicken if I win, right?”

  ***

  Back at the challenge hall I felt like a different person. This time I had someone there cheering me on. I summoned my new Gem beforehand, of course, I wouldn’t expect him to fight in a challenge the first time he ever met me. Vortex was a miniature version of his dad, a waist-high fawn with tiny half antlers and grey fur peppered in dew. I couldn’t get over how adorable he was.

  Gems grew to full cub size inside their capsule within the first day of birth, they were never proper babies. Even at such a young age, this boy would be fine to take part in my challenge. He didn’t have the experience or strength of my others yet, but I hoped I’d be able to keep him out of the thick of the fighting.

  “You’re back.” Lourey sighed and put down his book, it must be a good bit again. “And with a companion. Are you here to challenge too, young man?”

  “Nope, just here for my friend,” Eli said, moving a step in so our elbows brushed.

  “Very well. Come, Sam, let’s begin your final challenge.” Lourey led us over to the expanse of his arena and gestured for me to take up the opposite end. “As you’re a battle Prime, we should have a battle, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Do you have battle Gems?” I asked. “This is supposed to be a show town.”

  “A Gem is a Gem. There’s no such thing as a battle or show Gem. Any candy type can fight, any non-candy type can be beautiful in its own way,” Lourey said.

  “Except corrosives?” Eli cut in from my side.

  “I take it you haven’t seen the exquisite play of colours on an oil slick? We should worship all Gems as objects of beauty. And we should take them all seriously as foes. Ready yourself, Sam. Six rounds, I’ll summon first, and you choose your counter. Win four and I’ll award you the points.”

  “Okay.” I nodded and planted my feet. “Let’s do this.”

  Lourey put a hand in his pocket and swirled it around, then pulled out a capsule. Even he didn’t know what he’d be summoning. Guess that threw out my theory he’d start easy and work towards his strongest fighter.

  A lovebird appeared, all pink and silver feathered, it fluttered into the air and circled the room. I wasn’t sure I wanted to use Rica yet, I valued her input and could have done with waiting to see what further challenges brought. But the other options to catch a flyer were Sev and Finn, and they were my best offensive Gems. I’d be stupid to blow through them already.

  I pressed the purple and yellow capsule, my red panda sprung onto the battlefield. She wasn’t the swiftest
Gem on her stubby legs, but her abilities had a great range.

  ‘Give me a challenge next time.’ Rica yawned and scuttled to one side of the arena.

  ‘You’ve got a plan? Or should I direct you?’ I was on edge, ready to kick off the challenge.

  ‘If you must yell “electrocute the bird” to feel involved, go ahead.’

  ‘Well, now I don’t want to…’ I mind-mumbled.

  Rica wasn’t the dodging kind of Gem. Every time the little bird launched a shimmering silver wave of energy, she squinted, and a sheet of purple psychic barrier blocked it. The lovebird circled with wild flaps, hammering Rica from every angle, she was biding her time. Or toying with it.

  ‘Most definitely toying with it,’ Rica confirmed. Her entire body rippled from her tail tip to her nose, pulsing out a wave of crackling electricity. It hit Lourey’s Gem dead on, and it buckled. The bird pumped frantic wings, trying to regain some air, but Rica followed with another electric bolt. I thought it was over, but the game little thing struggled to stay upright.

  The same purple sheen from the barriers wrapped around the bird, clamping the wings against its body and folding in its legs. Rica’s eyes glowed with a piercing purple light, her focus on holding the psychic grip.

  ‘Tell its Prime this is over. There’s no way it can get out.’

  “Err, she said your bird isn’t strong enough to release itself,” I stammered, hoping the Challenge Master wouldn’t think I was bonkers.

  He recalled his bird and regarded Rica while rubbing his chin.

  “That’s one win, well done. If all your Gems are so… unique I don’t see you having many problems ahead. Let’s see what’s next.”

  ‘Nice one Rica,’ I thought as I recalled her. She was such a great addition to my team, even if she was a cheeky little cow bag sometimes.

  “Ah, so we have a good friend of mine next,” Lourey said with a haunting smile. Oh damn, was he bluffing? Trying to get me to play my best cards now and get them out of the way? Or did he genuinely have a tough Gem for me to defeat?