Okay, overactive imagination, take a chill pill.
The sky is midnight blue with no stars or any moons in sight. I feel so strange, staring at the alien canvas. It’s almost like there’s something wrong with it. There’s no sign of Mirus, which makes me worried the celestial being has left the orbit of Oz. The last time it appeared in our solar system, it only stayed for a few weeks.
Toto becomes restless in my arms, as if he’s picking up on my somber mood. His movements remind me that my wrists are still bound.
“Hey, Metal Pants. Can we stop now?”
The cyborg whirls around. The shadows across the planes of his face make the sharp edges even more pronounced. His robotic eye shines blue for a moment before the light dims.
“Do you need to pee?”
Heat rushes to my cheeks. I’m glad it’s dark and he can’t see how his simple question made me mortified for no reason.
“Why are you getting all flustered? Are you one of those girls who gets embarrassed about everything?”
My jaw drops. “How did you know … ugh, never mind. That special eye of yours has an infrared sensor, doesn’t it?”
Even in the gloom, I catch the slight upturn of his lips. “Among other things.”
“Dorothy’s wrists are still bound. Do you have anything that can cut through the bindings?” the sorcerer pipes in.
“Right.” The cyborg approaches, stopping only one step away from invading my personal space.
Involuntarily, tension spreads through my body, and I clutch Toto tighter.
“Relax,” he continues. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Are you implying I’m afraid of you?”
He cocks his head to the side, his long bangs covering a portion of his face. “Your heartbeat says so.”
“Stop reading my vitals with your freakish eye,” I snap.
The cyborg’s chest expands right before he releases a loud gale of air through his mouth. “Put your robo-dog down if you don’t want his body damaged.”
Still glaring at him, I set Toto on the ground. The poor dog runs to the sorcerer, hiding between his legs with a whine.
To show I’m not scared of the cyborg like Toto is, I lift my chin and raise my bound hands. “All right. Do your thing.” When the cyborg arches one eyebrow, I amend. “Please?”
He lifts his mechanical hand. From his index finger, a small knife slides out. In one swift move, he cuts the leather bindings from my wrists as if they were made out of butter.
“That’s a sharp blade you have there. Planning on scalping anyone?” I rub my wrists.
The cyborg grins again. “Not today.” Almost instantaneously, his expression darkens, and his mouth sets into a hard line. “Is it true? Did you kill the Red Witch?”
“Yes.” I narrow my eyes, taking a step away from him. “You’re not one of her associates, are you?”
“No.” He glances away to focus his attention on the road ahead. “Where are you headed?”
Glowering now, I stare a hole through the back of his head. I know evasion when I see it. He’s hiding something, which means I have to be careful with the information I part with. “I’m going to Emerald City.”
The cyborg glances at me one more time. “And how do you plan to gain access to the city?”
“What do you mean?”
“Haven’t you heard? The gates are closed. The city is under lockdown.”
My stomach bottoms out as my jaw drops. “I need to get in!”
The sorcerer stops next to me and places a hand on my arm. “We’ll get in, Dorothy.”
His face is serene and sure. Somehow, I don’t mind his proximity. My anxiety and fears take a step back—not completely gone, but subdued.
“Your friend can probably help,” the cyborg continues.
“Me? How?” His voice rises to a shrill right before he changes his stance, peering at the cyborg through slits. “Do you know who I am?”
“I don’t know your identity, but I recognize the tattoo on your cheek. You are part of the Faulk Order of Alchemists. Their headquarters is in Emerald City.”
“I thought you were a sorcerer,” I say.
The man’s white eyebrows furrow together. He steps away, pulling his hair back as he begins to pace. “I don’t know if I am. I can’t remember my name or where I’m from, but I know how to use magic. This is so frustrating.”
“By looking at your injuries, I’d say you took quite a few blows to the head. Give it time. Your memories might come back eventually … or not.”
“Oh my stars. You are the worst motivational speaker ever.” I try to level the cyborg with a glare, but considering he’s a killing machine and a head taller than me, it’s a failed attempt.
“I wasn’t trying to motivate anyone.”
“It’s okay, Dorothy. I actually appreciate his brutal honesty. Somehow, not being able to rely on my mind doesn’t seem foreign.”
“Well, if you belong to an order headquartered in Emerald City, I’m sure they’ll be able to help you with your memories.” I switch my attention to the cyborg. “Well, I guess this is where we part ways. Thanks for all your help, whatever your name is.”
“My name is Reo Kurogane. And I’m coming with you.”
“Why?” I cross my arms, pouting like a petulant child. Not that there is an odd feeling of excitement deep in my belly about the idea of him joining us.
“Because I was headed that way. We’ll be safer if we stick together, don’t you think, Witch Slayer?”
“Don’t call me that. My name is Dorothy.”
“Hmm …” He rubs his chin as he pretends to be pondering something. “It doesn’t have quite the same impact.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll start calling you Metal Pants then.”
To my right, the alchemist snorts and tries to cover it up with a cough. “Well, I’m all for nicknames. You can call me Scrawny since I don’t know what my real name is.”
“That’s a terrible nickname,” I say at the same time that Reo says, “Okay.”
Once again, I throw a glower in his direction. He stares right back.
With a crooked grin, he says, “You’ll end up cross-eyed if you keep eyeballing me like that.”
“Is that what your mother told you?” I ask, regretting it immediately when Reo’s amused expression morphs into one of deep pain. I bet I get the same glint in my eyes when I think about my parents.
“Yes. Now, let’s get going. We’re too close to Scrape Town to my liking.”
He takes off in a brisk-paced stride, not bothering to glance back to see if we’re following him. Grumbling, I step right into his rhythm with Scrawny next to me. It doesn’t take long for the weariness of the day to settle on my shoulders, for my legs to refuse to cooperate. I haven’t had a moment of rest since I crashed onto this planet. Or it could be the disease showing its ugly head already. The words of Commander Gulch reverberate in my brain. I have an expiration date. What if the trip through the vortex changed something in my body, helped the genetic disease progress faster?
Maybe if I had some water, it would help. I reach for my backpack strap, finding nothing but the heavy fabric of my pilot’s uniform cape folded over my shoulder. Crap. Boq’s minions took it from me, and in the confusion, I forgot all about it. My stomach grumbles, reminding me I lost the measly protein bars as well.
A throbbing in my forehead adds on to my misery. My eyelids become heavy, and it’s a struggle to keep my eyes open. Surely, this bone-tiredness can’t be attributed only to normal fatigue. I tap the medical bracelet, checking the time. I’m not due for another dose of medicine for a few hours. Maybe it will help, but despite that, if I don’t get off this planet soon, I’m going to run out of medicine. And then what?
14
Darius
I try not to be too obvious as I cast furtive glances in Dorothy’s direction. She was all fired up at the beginning of our journey, but now, I’ve noticed her pace is dragging, and her steps are falteri
ng.
Moving closer, I whisper softly, “Are you okay?”
Through gritted teeth, she replies, “I’m fine.”
“Maybe we should stop to rest for a little bit.”
“That’s out of the question,” Reo replies from his position ahead. “We can’t stop until we’re out of this area.”
I open my mouth to offer a retort, but Dorothy touches my arm. “It’s okay, Scraw—gee, I can’t bring myself to call you by that nickname. I can keep going.”
Her face is paler, and her eyelids are droopy. No, she’s not okay. A low beep comes from the metal bracelet she’s wearing, but the grimace that immediately follows forces me to stop the young woman who saved me.
“What was that? Are you in pain?”
She steps away from me, slightly shaking her head. “I already told you, I’m fi—” Dorothy collapses suddenly, dropping her robo-dog.
I’m almost not fast enough to catch her lifeless body. “Dorothy!”
Toto begins to bark as if he’s worried as well about his owner. Reo is upon us in a split second, peering at the woman with round eyes. It’s the first time he’s shown any sign of emotion other than contempt since our journey started.
“What happened to her?”
Struggling to get a better hold of her, I reply, “I told you she needed to rest, but you were too stubborn to listen.”
He ignores my angry remark, pulling Dorothy into his much stronger arms. The temptation to fight to hold her is grand, but who am I kidding? I’d lose anyway.
Reo steps off of the yellow road, finding a low-rise, grassy hill to sit down with Dorothy cradled in his arms. His robotic eye glows brighter, and a blue line shines on her forehead. It takes me a moment to understand Reo is conducting a thorough scan. The line progresses lower, disappearing only when it reaches her toes.
“Can you see anything?” I brace my hands on my knees, leaning forward to better inspect her face.
“Nothing alarming. Her heartbeat is a little slower than I’d like, but her body temperature is normal.”
“Do you think the crystals she’s carrying could have done it?”
Reo lifts his face to mine so fast it almost gives me whiplash. Dorothy was right. His robotic eye is unnerving.
“How did you know she had crystals? Did she tell you?” It’s impossible to miss the new, dangerous tone in his voice.
“She didn’t tell me. I sensed them.”
My answer doesn’t change the manner in which the cyborg is regarding me, as if he’s trying to sniff the lie. Stepping back, I cross my arms in a ridiculous attempt to shield myself from his super eyesight.
“You’re scanning me. That’s rude and an invasion of privacy.”
After a moment, Reo’s murderous glare softens. “You’re not lying. I wasn’t aware alchemists could sense crystals.”
“Since I didn’t know I was an alchemist, I wasn’t aware they could either.”
“She must have taken them from the Red Witch.”
“Dorothy’s crystals are in their purest form. Surely, the Red Witch’s crystals were corrupted. How can they be the same?”
“I don’t know.”
Dorothy begins to stir, followed by the soft mumbling coming from her lips. At first, I don’t understand what she’s saying, and then I catch the words I’m sorry and Adrian. I can’t control the ugly feeling that sprouts in my chest. Who is this Adrian? Her boyfriend?
Reo places a gloved hand on her cheek, giving my sudden jealousy a new target. My first impulse is to bat his hand away, but that’s utterly ridiculous.
“Dorothy, open your eyes,” he says in a gentle manner that makes me think he cares more about her than he lets on.
Blinking a couple of times, she finally wakes up from her faint. With glazed eyes, she asks, “What happened? Why are you holding me?”
“You fainted,” he replies, moving his hand away from her face.
She attempts to sit up and only manages with Reo’s help. I don’t miss the consternation on her face when she finds herself sitting on his lap now.
“Here.” I offer her my hand. I might be mistaken, but I believe I catch a glint of relief in her eyes.
Reo jumps back to his feet, putting some distance between us.
“Thanks.” She smiles a little, making my throat go dry.
Heat surges through my cheeks, and not knowing what else to do, I drop her hand like it’s on fire and focus on anything besides her face.
“The crystals you have, how did you acquire them?” Reo looks at the dark sky, maybe trying to downplay his interest.
“You searched me while I was unconscious?” Dorothy taps her belt pocket, no doubt making sure Reo didn’t take her crystals.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Reo glimpses over his shoulder, his face twisted into a scowl. “Of course I didn’t search you. Do you even know what those crystals are?”
“Hmm, let’s see.” She pinches her chin. “I’ve been on this planet for less than twenty-four hours. In that time, I managed to piss off a crazy witch who tried to murder me on sight. Then, after killing said witch in self-defense, I was captured by a gang of funny-looking natives, and now, I must travel to I don’t know where with a grumpy, possibly criminal cyborg. So, to answer your question, no, I haven’t had a chance to figure out what the crystals are.”
A moment of silence descends upon us like a heavy fog. Reo stares at Dorothy without blinking and with his mouth partially open.
Clearing my throat, I say, “The crystals are a source of energy. They vary in color, and each can be used for different purposes. The crystals you carry are in their purest form, which means they are extremely powerful.”
“Could they do me harm?” she asks, her beautiful green eyes going rounder.
“Yes,” Reo answers bluntly.
“Not necessarily,” I add, seeing how the cyborg’s answer affected Dorothy. Someone really ought to teach him people skills. Maybe I can figure out how to program that into his system.
“Don’t try to sugarcoat it, Scrawny. Continued exposure to crystals can render a person insane or corrupt them to do evil things. I’ve seen it in action.”
“That’s true; however, there have been some studies that say …” I pause, unable to complete the thought. I knew exactly what I wanted to say a moment ago, but like sand drifting in the wind, the knowledge escaped from my grasp.
“What do the studies say?” Dorothy moves closer.
Holding my head in my hands, I close my eyes. “I can’t remember.”
“Terrific,” Reo replies.
Peering at her from under my eyelashes, I say, “I’m sorry.”
Dorothy pulls her lower lip in, nibbling at it. It’s an action that reflects her worry. It shouldn’t be giving me inappropriate urges, such as the desire to kiss her.
“The crystals fell off the Red Witch’s boots. They were bright red before I picked them up. They changed to white while I was holding them.”
My brain can’t access the knowledge that would help me comprehend the implications of her statement; nevertheless, when I glance at Reo and our gazes lock, there’s a mutual understanding that this revelation is important. I hope he knows what it means.
Whatever it is, I don’t think he plans to part with the information. He rubs his face, moving away from us.
“What is it?” Dorothy asks. “Why did the crystals behave in that manner when I held them?”
“I’m not sure,” Reo replies.
Suddenly, the midnight sky changes when a bright cluster of rainbow-colored stars cuts across it.
“What in the world is that?” I ask.
“It’s Mirus,” Dorothy replies in awe. “It’s still here.”
When I peel my gaze from the sky, I find something even more extraordinary: Dorothy’s expression of wonder. My heart skips a beat. I’m positive I’ve never felt something akin to it in my entire life, despite my lack of memories.
“I don’t know what that is.” Reo watc
hes the cluster become smaller until it disappears from view.
“It’s a—”
A terrifying roar comes from the other side of the road, making me jump where I stand. On instinct, I summon a burst of energy in the palm of my hand, waiting for the creature who made that sound to reveal itself. Toto lets out a growl, flexing his small mechanical legs so that his body is closer to the ground.
“What was that?” I ask.
Reo raises his nose and takes a deep breath. “By the stench of it, I’d say it’s a kalidah.”
“A what?” Dorothy squeaks.
“A monstrous beast with the body of a bear and the head of a tiger.”
“Great, because it wasn’t enough for this forest to have bears and tigers; it had to have a combo of both. I wish I still had my blaster.”
Reo reaches inside his cloak. “Here. I grabbed it before we escaped.” He hands Dorothy a small blaster gun.
“You had this with you the entire time? Were you planning on keeping it?” She curls her fingers around the weapon, glaring at the cyborg.
Several pairs of fiery-yellow eyes emerge in the darkness, followed by low growls. Fantastic. There is more than one.
“Uh, what’s the plan, folks?” I ask.
“Stay behind me. I’ll deal with those beasts.” Reo assumes a protector stance, spreading his legs wide and raising his mechanical arm. The glow from his weapon gives him a chilling appearance. Almost cruel.
I can’t decide who is the predator now.
“I can help,” I say.
“No. Stay with Dorothy. Protect her and the dog.”
“Hey! I don’t need protection.” She walks around Reo, standing side by side with him, her gun ready.
Her dog follows her, standing in between her legs. He barks as if to say he doesn’t need protection either.
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