The Sapphiri

by R Gene Curtis

  Karl was keeping secrets from me. Secrets he shared with Somrusee.

  “Why didn’t he show it to me? Why didn’t he tell me about it?” I shout. I hear a sob from near the doorway. “Why didn’t YOU tell me about this?”

  Somrusee’s voice is soft. “The day is light outside. The army is coming.”

  The army? Now? The swirl of hurt and anger slows, replaced by fear.

  “Princess, what do you want us to do?” Somrusee is crying, too. She’s hurting. I’m hurting.

  “I want you to save Karl,” I say, and I roll off the bed. I kneel down next to his body, and then I fall on it and cry. It’s not as warm anymore. It’s getting colder by the minute. The anger is gone, replaced by sorrow so deep not even a hole through the center of the world would compete.

  “The paper we found with that rod said that it was the only way to save the world.” Somrusee sniffs.

  Save the world?

  Oh Karl. What were you thinking?

  28 Awake

  Brit

  The army is awake. That’s what Bob says. He says the army is coming and Pearl is supposed to hide. Pearl doesn’t want to, but we only have one gun. And that one gun only has two bullets.

  I’m pretty sure Cassi has a gun, too, and it probably has more bullets than two.

  We can’t run, we can’t hide, and we have lots of people coming to kill us.

  I’m completely useless. I don’t have magical powers like Lydia. I don’t have a knack for sneaking out at night and getting information like Bob. I don’t think I could kill a soul out there, even if I had a weapon to do it.

  I shudder as I think of the day and what horrors it might bring. Surely there are better things to think about.

  Where are Lydia and Karl? I look over at Bob and Ler, who stare at each other with worried expressions. Bob hates speaking in the language here, though he can do it. As for me, I can’t speak the language, and so I have no idea what Ler is thinking. That bothers me—I miss being able to talk to Ler. He’s been my friend for these past few weeks, and now we can’t say a single word to each other. I wish I could speak like Bob and Cassi. Something about them being full-blood Sapphiri or something like that. Pearl is in the same boat as me, though. Bob hates translating for her, but she gets what she wants because she’s Pearl.

  I push off the cold ground and brush snow off my butt. It’s strangely quiet in here, this dimly lit cavern that will soon collapse under an army’s weight. The peace of the morning feels out of place.

  Ler smiles at me, and I blush and smile back.

  My feet crunch in the snow as I wander down the corridor towards Karl and Lydia’s room. Hopefully they’re in there. Not that they will have any plans, but Lydia’s my friend, and someone I want to be with right now. I approach the door, but I hesitate, not sure what I’m going to say.

  It’s open, and Somrusee is sitting on the ground, blocking the doorway. She’s curled up in a ball with tears running down her cheeks.

  “Somrusee?” I ask. She doesn’t reply, which is fine because I can’t understand a word she says, anyway. I step over her and walk into the room. Lydia is sprawled on the floor behind the bed over Karl. She’s crying, too.

  I expected tears today, but I’m not sure why everyone would be crying now before the army gets here.

  “Lydia?”

  She lifts her head. Her face is streaked with tears, too. “Oh,” she says. “Hi Brit.” And then her head falls back onto Karl.

  He doesn’t grunt when her head hits him. I take a step closer. Karl isn’t moving. I look at Somrusee, curled in the snow against the doorway, and I look at Lydia lying over Karl’s body on the cold ground. Something is wrong with Karl.

  He’s dead. That’s what is happening. Karl’s dead, and Lydia’s feeling that empty, lost feeling I felt when my brother died. That feeling that eats you up and makes you feel like you might never be human again. I crouch beside her and take her hand.

  “I’m sorry Lydia,” I whisper.

  Her breath catches, and her head raises slowly from Karl’s chest. His chest has a hole in it. I can’t imagine what happened to create a hole like that. I can’t smell blood. I shiver. Karl’s body is already cold.

  “I guess we wait here until we die,” she whispers. “I don’t want to fight anymore.”

  “You don’t have to fight if you don’t want to,” I whisper back. The room feels solemn with Karl’s corpse sitting there on the ground. And with an army coming. Whispering seems good.

  “I wanted to help people here, Brit,” Lydia says. She told me the same thing last night. She feels like she’s failed. I know how that feels, too. I’ve felt that same feeling whenever I’ve given up a goal or told my mom I didn’t do well in a class. I’ve felt that way every time I’ve had a boyfriend dump me. I know what it’s like to feel like a failure. But, Lydia taught me how to get back up. I can stand up and fight for myself and do something. Just because you fail doesn’t mean you’re a failure.

  “You have helped people here,” I say. And then, because I want to go home so badly, I add, “but maybe it’s time to go home. Maybe you’ve done what you can here.”

  Lydia’s body shakes a little, which might mean she agrees with me. It sounded right to me, too.

  “You’ve done enough, Lydia,” I say again. “Can you get us out of here? Can you take us home?”

  She doesn’t respond, and so we sit there in silence. The snow is cold against my legs. Lydia isn’t sobbing anymore. She’s staring across the room with a far-off look in her eyes. I squeeze her hand. It’s warm, and so is mine. The room is silent other than Somrusee’s quiet sobs from the doorway.

  “What would I do there?” she finally asks. Her words are so soft they nearly float away before I catch them. But, I do catch them, and I know what to say.

  “Take me with you, of course. We’ll go back to school. You can get back on the team and play soccer. I have some savings I can use to help you get back on your feet. We’ll get jobs and work our way through school.” It sounds hard, but better than dying here today. I look down at Karl again.

  “I’ll have a baby,” she says.

  I run my fingers through her curly hair. “I love babies,” I say. “I’ll help watch her. You won’t be alone. It will be better for the baby—better than dying here.”

  Lydia sits up and rubs her eyes. I lower my hand and look at her. She’s a strong woman, and I’m glad I know where she is. I’m glad to be here. I’m glad I found her. Am I interpreting the look on her face correctly? Does she know how to get us out of here?

  29 Alliance

  Lydia

  Brit stares at me and I stare at her. I can sense her. I can feel her. I can even read her thoughts even though I’m not touching her anymore. She’s glad to be here with me, even though she might die because of it. She’s serious when she says that she will help me through school. Her mind is swimming with the possibilities of taking care of a baby and how that would fit in with her classes. She would skip way too many classes to spend time with my baby.

  I reach across the room with my mind, and I can sense Somrusee. She’s filled with a sorrow similar to my own. I push, and I can push her sorrow away. I push, and I can fill her with determination. She stands up.

  “We can’t let this be for nothing,” Somrusee says, wiping the tears furiously off her face.

  I stare at her, unable to fathom what I’m able to do. What kind of power has Karl given me? Can I use it? Is Brit right? Can I use this power and take us home?

  Can I go home?

  I reach out to Karl, but I don’t feel anything from him. The space he occupies on the floor is as empty as the hole in his chest cavity. He’s gone. He’s really gone.

  And so, I force myself to look back at Brit. She’s mostly right. I have done a lot here, and I do want to go home. Going home is right in so many ways. I’m tired of having power, and I’m tired of people trying to kill me. But Brit is wrong that I can just walk away and leave now. Even
if I could get myself and everyone home with this new power from Karl, I can’t just leave the world in Cassi’s hands. I didn’t come here to trade one dictator for another.

  With Karl’s heart beating in my chest, I have a chance to truly save the world.

  And then I’ll figure out how to get home.

  Somrusee is still standing by the doorway. She’s brushed the snow off her clothes, and she stands straighter now, a little taller. Light from the corridor flickers behind her silhouette, emphasizing her posture and the determination I’ve pushed into her. The power I have makes me feel unsteady, in control but out of control. Hopefully it will be enough to do what I have to do.

  “Go find Bob and Pearl,” I tell Somrusee. My voice comes out more like a frog croak. Apparently waking up and bawling your eyes out isn’t a great way to warm up your voice. “They need to take me to Cassi.”

  “What are you thinking, Lydia?” Brit asks. She’s feeling a little more hopeful now that I’m sitting up and thinking. She believes in me, and whether or not that trust is misguided, I want to do something about it.

  I turn back to Brit. She takes my hand and holds it tightly, and the warmth coming from it warms me and makes me smile. I can’t give up now. Maybe it’s for the baby, maybe it’s for Karl, maybe it’s for this friend who has given me so much. But, I’m ready to fight now. I’m not giving up.

  “Pearl and Bob are Sapphiri, just as much as Cassi. If they can be the ones who capture me, they may be able to gain the army’s trust.”

  Somrusee is still standing at the doorway, looking at Brit and me like she can understand what we’re saying. I push at her doubt, and she fills with confidence and runs away. I push at her mind and she “guesses” what Brit and I were talking about. And then she’s too far away. I lean against the bed and pull myself to my feet. I don’t look down, I don’t look sideways, I don’t look anywhere but at the door.

  Brit’s right. I’ve overstayed my welcome. It’s time to find a way to go home. It’s time to fix things and find a way out of here. As long as we don’t die first.

  * * *

  Before any soldiers enter the cave, I’m taken out of it. Bob stands on one side of me and Pearl on the other. Brit insisted on coming as well, and she walks in front of me with her hand in Ler’s. If a knife comes for me, one of them will take it. I don’t like it, and I hope the clumsy use of my new powers will keep the knives from coming.

  My feet drag behind me over the crisp snow. I let my head lull to one side like I’m unconscious.

  But I’m not unconcious. I’m more conscious than I’ve ever been in my life. I feel the presence of each person, each soldier around me. I feel their respect for Bob and Pearl, Sapphiri warriors with glowing eyes. The Sapphiri. The people hated by the mountain people. These are the people this army has been waiting for—to deliver the world from the Azureans.

  From me.

  I push at the emotions of the people around me. I push trust and confidence in Bob and Pearl. I push away their feelings of hatred, and no one throws a knife. It’s easy to manipulate their emotions. They do trust the Sapphiri, and seeing me unconscious already bolsters confidence nearly as much as my ability to affect them.

  “We’ve caught the Azurean princess!” Pearl shouts. “Where’s Cassi?”

  I feel a man’s surge of pride as he steps out of line to show the way. I push the pride, helping him feel important. I increase the feelings of jealousy in the surrounding men, and they move out of our way. I keep my eyes closed, but I don’t miss anything. With the power of Karl’s heart beating with mine, I’m conscious of everyone. I feel like I could kill hundreds or thousands of them now in the same way I’ve killed others in this world. I can feel the copper beneath me in the ground. I could heat it and flood the area with a melted snow river; I could cool it down and freeze all of their boots in the snow. I can’t see anything, and yet I can see everything.

  I don’t kill anyone. Karl gave me power to save, not to kill. I’m tired of using powers for my own advantage. I’m sure now that being here and being the princess isn’t my calling. I’ve fought my fight, and if we can overthrow Cassi, I’ll have won.

  We’re far into the army, definitely far past the point of no return, when I hear Cassi’s voice echoing over the snow. She’s angry. I push some of her anger away and enhance her feelings of curiosity. Her emotions are especially strong, however. Hard to manipulate.

  Arujan is nearby, too. I shudder. He’s upset, too. He’s getting closer.

  “Bob!” Cassi yells. “Somebody kill them!”

  A knife flies out from the crowd. Almost without thinking I condense the dust in the air into a stick, which catches the knife. Bob and Pearl let go of me. It’s time to give up the unconscious act and support myself on my own feet.

  The appearance of the dirt stick is enough to stop the crowd from throwing any more knives. For now, though their hatred starts to simmer. It will boil over soon. I push my way past Brit and Ler and face Cassi.

  She’s surrounded by guards.

  And then Arujan is there, too.

  “What is the meaning of this?” he yells. “Why is my guard following you around?”

  But before he can make it to Cassi, she pulls out her gun and shoots him in the head. His head snaps back and blood splatters over the ground as his body falls backward. The people around us jump, and I can feel their confusion and fear. Cassi is Sapphiri, but she can kill with her hand like an Azurean.

  And Arujan, the man who has caused us so much trouble for so long, is dead.

  I pull on the fear of the people around us. I push against the hatred. No one throws a knife at us, but it is getting harder to stay their anger. I push harder, and it is taking most of my concentration.

  “Have you come to turn yourself in, Bob?” Cassi asks, moving her gun to point past me and at him. Her gun. I could melt it. I could make it fire. I could break Cassi’s arm without even moving.

  I do nothing.

  Bob laughs behind me. “You have no claim to the Sapphiri, Cassi. I’m the heir of Adolar. You said it yourself. You’re not purebred. You’re not Adolar’s heir. You are an imposter in this world and on Earth.”

  Cassi laughs and speaks in English. “I killed all your siblings. Personally. Both your parents are dead, Bob. You’re right. You’re exactly right. You’re the last purebred Sapphiri, and you’re about to die. After you are dead, I’ll find my way back to Earth. And then we’ll combine the worlds under one rule, with Sapphiri in their rightful place.”

  I enhance Cassi’s guard’s feelings of doubt, and I push trust in Bob and Pearl. The guards don’t like hearing English. At the same time, I try to catch Bob’s eye. This isn’t what was supposed to happen when we got here. Bob and Pearl were supposed to gain the trust of the people, not fight with Cassi.

  Some of Cassi’s guards step away from her. The wave of hatred emanating from the surrounding people is growing stronger. They see me standing. They realize something is going on. I push back at them, but there are so many. We only have another few seconds.

  I move backward, closer to my friends, wondering when the first knife will hit my back.

  “Bob,” I whisper. He doesn’t respond. He’s still looking at Cassi with murder in his eyes.

  He’s going to get us all killed, and I’m working so hard to keep the crowd from killing us that I can’t stop him.

  “You’re surrounded,” Cassi says, and she takes a step towards us. Most of her guard is still flanking her. “All of you are traitors to the Sapphiri. And now I will be the one to kill the last pureblood.”

  I open my mouth to speak, but Bob’s shouts are louder than my voice. “You’re the traitor,” he yells. “The Sapphiri were meant to protect. Adolar valued service, not power.” I want to take a step towards Bob, but the increase in fear and hatred I feel from the army keeps me rooted to the spot. A gust of wind ripples through the camp, and I shiver against it. It starts snowing.

  I’m confused now. Uncert
ain of what to do next. Karl’s heart gives me a lot of power, but I’ve reached the limit. I bite my lip at the surge of panic that threatens to knock me over. The dam is about to break. They don’t see Bob and Pearl as saviors, and they see me standing here, alive.

  Cassi laughs, and her voice rides with the winter wind as it howls through the trees. “Power is the only way to protect the people from themselves. You always were a fool. You’re not even worth my time and energy.”

  Cassi lowers her gun. She laughs and turns away from us, behind her guards. “Kill him. And the princess,” she yells as she walks away.

  Her men charge. I push against their fear, but they don’t slow. I heat the copper in the ground beneath them; the snow becomes wet and they stumble in the slush and sink into the water.

  Bob pulls out a gun.

  A gun? I thought I destroyed all the guns. How is he going to gain the trust of the people with a gun?

  Cassi is several feet away now, walking with her head held high with the confidence of a leader. She doesn’t see that her men have sunk into the melting snow and Bob has a clear shot at her. She doesn’t see the hatred that burns in his eyes. She doesn’t see the panic or the fear in mine.

  But I do. I stop pushing against the crowd and spin towards Bob.

  “No!” I yell, but it is too late.

  Bob only takes a single shot, but his shot goes right through Cassi’s heart. Her body crumples to the ground.

  And the army has gone wild.

  The sky fills with knives, and every single one flies towards me and my friends. With a wave of my hands, I pull snow into the air to combine with the dust. The wall that forms shatters as the knives crash against it. I pull up another wall, and then another, and they shatter again and again.

  The army starts to charge. I heat up the snow beneath them and I slow them down, but I can’t stop them, there are so many of them.

  The dust and snow around us creates a whirlwind, but still the army advances. They come at us from all sides. There’s no escape. I look around, but there’s no break in the advancing army, no hole to sneak through without being attacked from all sides.