The Obsidian Throne

by Michelle Soper

  Nev was still staring at the ground, but she could feel his gaze as he waited for a response. “No, I haven’t. And you still haven’t asked why I found myself in such a predicament,” she replied, keeping her eyes averted from him.

  “Yeah, well, I have an idea about that,” he said, focusing back on her wound. “I know you aren’t marked, even though you are the right age for it to be required. So, it stands to reason they would want to rectify that,” he stated. “There is one thing that I am still trying to work out, however. That’s how you have managed to evade a prowler for—by his own admission—almost two weeks,” Wyatt said as he finished rewrapping her shoulder.

  Nev shrugged her shoulders gently and replied, “Luck.”

  Wyatt shook his head and let out a small laugh, “Right, luck. If that is all it is, then I am going to need to take you with me the next time I play cards. Luck, no doubt, plays a part. Of course, you and I both know there has to be more to it than that.”

  Nev looked up at him and found herself staring at him. She noted that his hair had dried again. In the sunlight, his hair’s soft, loose curls seemed to shimmer as they caught the light. She watched as the rays bounced and skipped across his locks. Admittedly, he had an awkwardly adorable look about him. As she continued to study his face, he flashed a smile at her. Suddenly feeling flushed, she turned away from him.

  “Hmm… well, I suppose I can go first. Addi is going to be more than a little perturbed when she finds out I told you. But surely, she can’t stay mad at her favorite brother forever,” Wyatt theorized before inhaling deeply.

  “Brother? And tell me what,” Nev asked, feeling confused.

  “Right, I forget that not everyone has known her for their whole life. So, let’s start with your first question. Addi, or Adelaide as she is known to most everyone else, is my twin sister and the only family I have. She is technically only seven minutes older than me, but she takes her role as an older sister very seriously. That is especially true since we were fifteen, and both of our parents died of the Crimson flu that swept through our village.

  “Addi and I stuck around our home for a bit, helping those left after the sickness had moved on. After a while, we decided we could do more for people if we went to where they were. Times have been hard for a lot of people. Nowadays, we mostly get people things they need but can’t get themselves. I, Addi, and others are part of a network that moves things all over Obsidia.

  “The emperor’s trade restrictions have made it a challenge for most people to procure even the most basic items, so that is what I was doing in Serenity Falls. I was picking up a supply of medicine from a drop, and the plan had been to get it and pass it along to someone in need. As it turns out, I found someone very much in need of healing,” Wyatt explained, pausing only briefly to lock eyes with Nev and smile warmly at her.

  “Now that you and I had our little adventure in Serenity Falls, however, I will be out of the chain until it can be proven I’m uncompromised. After all, what we do is not exactly legal. That was why I scrawled that note in my ledger just before we got a knock at the door. To anyone outside our network, it will look like nothing. However, the message will be clear to a select few. That message is that I am, for now, unlinked from the chain,” Wyatt clarified. Having finished his story, he waited patiently for Nev’s response before continuing.

  Nev listened carefully as he explained how he and Addi had spent the last fifteen years helping people across southern Obsidia. “It sounds like you and your sister have really helped a lot of people,” she said, nodding in approval.

  “Well, we do our best to help. Anyway, now for an answer to your second question,” Wyatt said before taking a deep breath.

  Nev inched closer and looked at him closely. His shift in demeanor made it apparent that this was not something he often shared, if ever.

  Wyatt sighed. If Addi were here, she would insist he not reveal the whole truth, and she would be right to do so. The truth about what he was had already caused plenty of pain in his life. Even so, part of him really wanted Nev to know. Clearing his throat and looking directly at her, he said, “I’m a Tink.”

  Nev had heard of Tinkerers before, but she’d never met one. They were said to be exceedingly rare and had abilities unique to all other people. Tales of their capabilities were shared far and wide and were common occurrences in many of the stories told across Obsidia. What wasn’t well known was which tales were true and which were legends. It was said they could read and influence minds, manipulate the energies of the world, and conjure past images or even items from their very thoughts. Some people believed they were capable of all of that and much more. Tinks, as they were most commonly called, were highly sought after and closely supervised by the empire. That had always been the way of things, as far as Nev was aware.

  Tinks, like the Unmarked, were expected to present themselves to the empire. Tinkerers needed to do this as soon as their abilities became apparent. Tinks, unlike the Unmarked, would then be forced to live the remainder of their days in heavily guarded buildings with their sole purpose being to serve the will of the empire. Failure to do so resulted in the same outcome that resulted when anyone dared to defy the emperor. They would be hunted, imprisoned and harshly reminded, usually with death, as to why they should never go against the will of the empire again.

  Wyatt watched Nev closely and waited for her reaction. He half expected Addi to materialize from thin air just to thrash him for divulging his secret. She needs to know the truth, and I need to know how she feels about it, he told himself.

  Nev looked at him thoughtfully. “And that is how they did not see me back in your apartment, isn’t it?” she asked softly.

  Wyatt nodded and said, “Yes.” He scanned her face for any hint as to how she was taking the revelation.

  “I see,” she said, contemplating the implications of that.

  “I can do other things, but I don’t generally do any of them often because of the headaches that come from it. And it tends to draw the wrong kind of attention. That said, I can do stuff besides make people unseen. Although I do think it is one of my more impressive feats. Especially considering that was the first time I had ever done it,” he said with a broad grin.

  “What!” Nev looked up at him in shock.

  “What? It worked, didn’t it?” he asked, looking quite pleased with himself.

  Nev was about to argue with him when suddenly a strange feeling came over her. She instinctively placed her hand over Wyatt’s mouth to hush him. Scanning their surroundings, Nev noticed the frogs that had been happily croaking along the creek had fallen quiet, as had all the other fauna in the area. Nev strained her senses to pick up on the threat she knew was lurking nearby, but she couldn’t clearly sense anything.

  A fog of nothingness had settled over her. Struggling, she focused her breathing and cleared her mind. With her right hand still on Wyatt’s mouth, she pulled her necklace out from under her shirt with her other hand. As she held it, the amulet began to glow with a faint purple light. “Show me,” she whispered.

  Nev could hear her and Wyatt’s breathing, the water moving through the creek, and the hushed sounds of the surrounding animals. Suddenly, a menacing presence came into focus. He was still searching, but he was drawing closer. Nev opened her eyes and carefully put the amulet back under her shirt before turning her attention to Wyatt.

  He hadn’t initially sensed what Nev had, but he’d taken her meaning to stay quiet all the same. What transpired while her hand still hushed him had left more questions than answers. All of that, however, would have to wait. Once again, they found themselves in danger. Fleeing from it was all that mattered.

  Nev pointed at Wyatt and then herself before gesturing toward the woods that lay a short way across from the creek. She stood up quietly and began walking quickly and close to the ground. She only looked back once to see if Wyatt was following. The rain had returned with sudden ferocity and sheets of water poured from the clouds above. Th
rough the storm and the woods, she could sense her pursuer. You again, she thought. She felt him drawing closer, and she quickened her pace in response.

  Wyatt, not saying a word, followed Nev’s lead. She seemed to know which direction they needed to head, which was plenty good enough for him. He could sense the impending danger now, and there was a strange familiarity to it. He tried to shake the feeling. The more he tried to deny it, however, the more it felt certain. It was him. The prowler from Serenity Falls and his past was still pursuing them. I guess it was too much to hope he would just give up, he thought.

  The prowler could sense his prey was close, and he quickened his pace. He felt his attention drawn to a large slab of rock near the creek. He hurried towards it as he felt the energy calling to him. Upon reaching the stone, he kneeled and removed the glove from his right hand. Eagerly, he placed his hand on the stone’s surface and closed his eyes. He drew upon the residual energy and grinned. “You are so close now,” he said, standing up and scanning his surroundings. In a few moments, he sensed his prey’s location and grinned before heading off towards the woods.

  Nev’s mind was focused now. Quickly she assessed her options as she and Wyatt entered the forest’s edge. They could not merely outrun a prowler. Nor could they successfully deal with him face to face, even with Wyatt’s talents and her skills. Then she felt or heard something that drew her attention. It was the faint sound of water being drawn towards an opening and disappearing. The sound was muffled like it was underground. Yet, there was no mistaking it. “A cave,” she said quietly, focusing in on the direction of the sound. Having pinpointed the origin, she moved quickly towards it.

  Wyatt could tell she was moving with a purpose. He really hoped she had some idea beyond fleeing deeper into the woods. Especially since he couldn’t shake the feeling that the prowler was gaining on them. As they fled, Wyatt did his best to keep the sounds they made muffled. He tried to focus on suppressing the sound produced by each step they took while directing other decoy sounds to grow in intensity. Perhaps Wyatt could at least slow or confuse their pursuer, but using his abilities while fleeing proved incredibly difficult. Suddenly, he saw Nev stop at the edge of a small body of water. The pond was expanding rapidly as the rain poured down.

  “Can you swim?” Nev asked impatiently as she turned to look at Wyatt.

  “I can,” he replied, sounding perplexed and apprehensive.

  Nev nodded. She quickly unhooked a mid-sized coil of rope that had hung from her belt. She tied one end through a loop at her waist and then handed the other end to Wyatt. “Good. I need you to take a really deep breath and don’t let go. Promise, no matter what happens, you won’t let go,” she insisted as she started walking into the pond.

  “I promise. I won’t let go,” Wyatt vowed. He felt a strange sense of weighty calmness fall over him as the words left his lips.

  Nev nodded again before walking deeper into the water. “Remember, trust me and don’t let go,” she said, before taking a deep breath and disappearing below the surface of the water.

  Wyatt watched as she dove into the water. “Wait! What?” he asked, as he felt the rope pull taut. He quickly wrapped the rope around his hand and took a deep breath before being tugged under. He tried to see Nev, but the water was too murky to see much of anything. At least he could still sense her. Wyatt found himself struggling to keep up with Nev as he followed the direction the rope was being pulled. As he was dragged towards her, he could feel the current of the water rushing past him. Suddenly, her figure unexpectedly took shape before him. With no time to react, he felt her pull hard on the rope.

  Nev could feel the water being pulled past her and swam as quickly as she could in that direction. Having reached the hidden crevasse, she pulled Wyatt towards her with all her might. Once he reached her, Nev forced them both to the surface. “Deep breath and don’t let go,” she quickly reminded him before disappearing back into the water. Swiftly locating the opening in the ground, she pushed herself through the small gap and pulled fiercely on the rope.

  Is she crazy? Wyatt thought as he followed her back under the water and observed her squeeze into the underwater opening. He could swim, but it was not a skill he was particularly proficient at. Now she wanted to go even deeper. He felt the rope tug intensely and quickly decided to take a plunge of faith by following her through the narrow hole.

  Nev hadn’t waited to see if Wyatt was following her. Her lungs were begging for air. She could see a faint light coming from nearby, and she pushed herself to swim towards it as quickly as her muscles would allow. She reached the pale glow and swam up towards it, immediately gasping for air as she breached the surface of the water. Her thoughts quickly turned to Wyatt. She pulled and pulled on the rope. Please tell me you didn’t let go, she thought, feeling her panic build.

  Wyatt had tried to keep pace with Nev but had found himself being tugged forward more and more. He was slipping into unconsciousness as his lungs burned through the last bits of air. His final sensations were of being pulled forward and trying to desperately hang on to the rope. Despite his best efforts, he could feel his grasp loosening.

  Nev pulled up the end of the rope and looked with horror as she saw no sign of Wyatt. Without hesitation, she took a deep breath and dove back into the water. She swam with her arms outreached. I told you not to let go. You promised, she said, as she kept searching. Despair began to overtake her when her hand suddenly brushed up against something soft. She could feel his hair entangle around her fingers, and she frantically reached down and grabbed him.

  She pulled him swiftly to the surface, but the breath she expected him to take didn’t come. Swimming quickly, she dragged him with her and towards an outcropping that was perched above the water’s edge. Nev climbed up on top of the rocks, careful to not let go of him. Frantically, she pulled him up onto the rocky ledge and looked for any sign that he was breathing again. “No, no, no!” she begged, feeling more and more panicked. She pounded on his chest and then leaned down close to him. With a feeling of desperation, she began blowing breaths into his mouth.

  Wyatt woke to Nev hovering inches from his face. He smiled slightly at her before suddenly coughing up water violently. Wyatt sat up and took in several ragged breaths. After catching his breath a bit, he looked up at her. “I’m sorry that I let go. I won’t do that again,” he stated regretfully before immediately coughing again.

  Nev felt a rush of relief as she watched him start breathing again. She lunged at him as he apologized and hugged him tightly, burrowing her face against his chest. “It’s alright. You… we are both safe for the moment,” she said, with her voice muffled.

  He was momentarily stunned as he felt her arms wrap around him. Up until this moment, he hadn’t been totally convinced she didn’t, at a minimum, seriously dislike him. As she nestled her face against him, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Wyatt rested his chin gently on the top of her head and breathed in deeply.

  Nev allowed herself a rare moment of vulnerability. Instead of pulling away from his embrace, she relaxed into it. She was so tired. Tired of being hunted. Tired of being cold and wet. Tired of being scared and more than anything, she was tired of being alone.

  Thoughts of her past and the guilt that always accompanied them began to creep slowly into her mind. She swallowed hard and savored the feeling of Wyatt’s embrace for a moment longer before pushing back and away from him. You can’t do this. Not to him, she thought, with a heavy heart.

  Wyatt reluctantly loosened his embrace as he felt her backing away. He reached out and brushed her face gently with his hand. “What is it?” he asked softly.

  Nev looked away and pushed his hand down gently. “It’s nothing,” she said, trying to sound convincing. She stood up and looked around the cave they were in. Water and time had eroded several paths large enough to walk through. There were also tiny mushrooms, growing along the walls, illuminating the caverns with a soft blue light. Nev checked to ensure her dag
ger and necklace had not been lost during their swim before bundling up the rope and securing it back on her belt. Her small pack had also survived their escape, although its contents were waterlogged.

  As she scanned their surroundings, she could see hints of more blue light emitting from the far end of one of the outstretching tunnels. Pointing towards the illuminated path, she said, “We should go that way. At least then we won’t be lost and in the dark.” Nev went to take a step when she suddenly felt Wyatt’s hand on her arm. “Wyatt, just let go,” she said as she sighed heavily and lowered her head.

  Wyatt had stood and grabbed her arm without fully realizing he had even moved to do so. He didn’t yet totally understand it, but he felt a real connection with her—and it was definitely growing more intense. She was clever, brave, kind, and beautiful. He would’ve been a fool to not be drawn to her some. Still, he could sense there was something else that was attracting him to her. A fact that failed to give him any pause. In fact, it filled him with a strange sense of confidence. He gently pulled her arm close to his chest. “I am afraid I can’t do that,” he said quietly.

  Nev shook her head with frustration. “Why not?” she asked, staring at him.

  “Well, you see… I made a promise not to. And I already unintentionally broke it once. Of course, I was unconscious at the time, so I don’t think that really counts,” Wyatt said with a playful smile. He then pulled her closer to him. “I would never consciously break a promise, not to you,” he affirmed gently. His eyes gazed affectionately at her as he watched her mind spin.

  Nev felt a swirl of emotions, and she shook her head in disapproval. Tugging her arm lightly, she half-heartedly tried to pull away from him. “You can’t. I can’t. You don’t know me,” she countered, lowering her head and sounding disheartened.