Chapter 14 – Kip

Wow, this chapter was a doosie! We have Kip and Sanson, who were floating down the river and got to the bridge that crossed it to connect a small island full of animals to the mainland. There was a drafter there with his apprentice and, already, the building was on fire. The fire was driving the animals wild as they tried to escape from it, but the two men were blocking the other end of the bridge.

Rats jumped in the water, small enough not to be noticed by the two men on the bridge as Kip and Sanson swam for the fence blocking the water fall. I’m not sure why the Drafter started beating his apprentice and I read that part three times! I have a sneaky suspicion we need to know his name for later, since Weeks made a point of using it, repeatedly. Zymun.

Zymun said something to his master and the man stopped beating him, then drafted red and with a hand clap made animals on the other side of the bridge explode. Literally explode, as if they had bombs inside them. Zymun did the same thing, with the animals moving to the center of the crumbling bridge. Larger animals weren’t broken apart as much as scared into the water, swimming or thrashing wildly. Naturally, this brought the drafter’s attention to the two boys at the fence and Sanson urged Kip over the fence as the drafters threw more and more shots at them.

They escaped, skirting the waterfall. When Kip started looking through the sides of his eyes, Sanson asked what was wrong with his eyes, then blew it off as the pressure came at them to move again. They made their way to a neighbor’s farm, where they found the destruction of the farm and death of the family that lived there. The farmer’s boat was still tied up at the docks, though, so the boys hurried towards it. They were stopped by ominous voices saying that the soldiers’ orders had been to capture him, but now that he’d killed two of the King’s men, they were going to kill him, instead.

AND Week’s ended the chapter there… AGAIN! I’m sitting in the hospital while I write this and I just freaked the nurse out by my blood pressure being up. Seriously, dude! I asked him to come back in a few minutes when I’ve got it under control and just blame that one on Brent Weeks. Sure, he looked at me funny, but I’ve learned that the General Doctor that’s overseeing my case is a fan of Brent Weeks, so I know he’ll understand. ?

So, what I think:

1. I think Kip just showed Sanson he could draft. I’m not sure what color his eyes turned while he was using his peripheral vision, but it was visible to Sanson. I think we’ll find out next time we get the two boys talking!
2. I’m kind of annoyed that they’ve come all that way and have been captured so close to freedom! I’m sure that’s exactly how I’m supposed to feel, though. The optimist in me wants to find some way for the boys to escape before this idiot kills them. Maybe the King will learn that Kip is so much more than a drafter? Maybe Gavin and Karris will arrive and save the boys? Hmmm…

Chapter 15 – Gavin

Score another one for Tiff! WHOO HOO! GO ME! Karris saw the smoke as they were crashing the condor and Gavin flew (if you want to call it that) over the mountains towards Rekton. Karris saw the boys, Gavin noted one was a green drafter, and they bolted off to help.

As they drew closer, Gavin realized they weren’t going to make it time to save the boys.

CLIFF HANGER AGAIN.

Now, this chapter review was short because the chapter was short, but also because there was a lot of filler in here. Gavin is very worried about Karris reading that letter and he’s already planning on how to convince her it’s a lie. He calls Lina (Kip’s mother) a lying whore and is already dreading telling the kid that his mother lied to him. There is a lot of talk about the crashing of the condor, catching updrafts over land and comparing it to birds flying and Karris taking over the control of the tail so they didn’t crash immediately. It’s all very interesting, but if I were to tell you everything, it would be plagiarism… or, at the very least, break laws about copying stuff. If you’re an engineer, you’re going to love the part about the Condor over land! My husband is an airplane nut and I’m debating whether he’d enjoy it or just look at me like I’m batty. Hmmm…

Chapter 16 – Kip

Kip tried to fight back, to give Sanson time to get away. When he saw the Condor crash (no, he didn’t know what it was, but we do!), he used the distraction to get Sanson moving. The guards didn’t stay distracted for long, though, and one chased after Sanson while the other attacked Kip. Kip fought back, but as untrained as he was against a Red Drafter, he didn’t stand a chance. He was knocked to the ground by a “bomb” and held in place by red sludge the drafter had covered him with so he didn’t run away. He saw the other drafter stabbing the ground with a spear and relaxing. Kip believes Sanson is dead. Maybe it’s just denial, but… NOT SANSON!! ☹

Then, Kip noticed a blue dot on the drafter’s ear that moved making the red drafter roar. He was thrown backwards, away from Kip, being ripped in half as he flew. The sludge holding Kip disappeared and he stood up, looking down at the carnage that used to be the red drafter and was now just red jelly. He quickly looked away from that and into the forest to find who was responsible for his rescue.

Gavin

Gavin had dispatched the Mirrorman who was about to kill Kip and turned to check on Karris. Karris had already killed one Mirrorman and flung herself onto the horse of another, burying her knife in his face, and pulling them both off the horse again. Gavin watched as Kip disappeared, searching for his friend. Gavin says they were too late to save Sanson, too. Boo! So, Kip has no one, now?

Before he could do anything else, like tell Karris to get the heck out of there, King Garadul shows up and demands to know what’s happened. Of course, he recognizes Gavin, too.

Now, given that Garadul is anti-Prism and he’s out to destroy any city that doesn’t back him and, instead, backs the Prism, this will not go well. The King has a good portion of his army with him and, while Karris is pretty kick-ass, I’m not sure that she and Gavin can take on the King AND his army. If they do, what about Kip? They can’t leave him, now that he’s alone and they’ve saved him.

This is a fine mess you’ve gotten yourself into, Gavin!