by Ann Denton
Another face came into view, and that was the last thing Mala remembered before a whirlwind of visions and a deep screaming pain took over.
When Mala awoke, she was naked, a cloak loosely draped over her shoulders. Her hands were locked in rusted handcuffs. She blinked and blearily faced the room. She felt sick. She felt exhausted. And with the cold emotionless expressions of the Ancients greeting her, she felt scared. She heard a gavel slam onto a table.
“Let the judgment begin.” The Kreis who had kissed Mala sat at a small table directly in front of her. The remaining Kreis stood behind him. Lowe was at the far end of the room, also shackled, but loosely. Just his wrists were bound—not like Mala. Straps dug into her skin every few inches and she could already feel her left foot tingling, going numb.
She grimly faced the Ancient in charge. He cleared his throat. “I am Tier, chief of the Ancients. You, Mala, will explain yourself.”
“I don’t understand.”
“How do you melt?”
“I’m not sure.”
Tier raised his eyebrows skeptically, revealing a scar across his forehead.
“It only just started,” Mala looked at Lowe for reassurance, but he just jerked his head toward Tier.
“Tier. Is this really necessary?” The calm black Ancient came striding forward. She rested a hand on Tier’s shoulder. “She’s committed no crime other than melting … differently.”
"What if she's related to him? What if she's his daughter?" Tier's voice was harsh; he stood up to challenge Fell.
Daughter? Not yet. No.
Fell also took a step forward, standing nose to nose with Tier. "One, that assumes the only way to get this ability is from Klaren. We don’t know that.”
Mala’s eyes went wide. This wasn’t supposed to happen yet. This is bad. So bad … She stared at a sea of unfriendly faces. He’s wrong! Defiant words clamored in her head, but she didn’t give them voice. Fell was arguing her point for her.
“Lowe said she’s traveled between guards. There’s no telling what kind of toxins or relics she was exposed to, what might have happened.”
“That’s speculation,” Tier responded. “You’ve got no proof.”
Fell stepped in front of Mala and squared off against Tier. “Neither do you. If she is his daughter ... she never knew him. Klaren was here. She wasn’t tainted by him. You saw her. She has no control over herself. No idea what’s going on. And I sure as hell am not gonna waste a shot at desecrating those blue-nosed bastards … just because of one mucked Kreis, once upon a time."
Fell moved to Mala’s side, and put a hand on her uninjured shoulder. Fell turned away from Tier, and faced the group at large. "Imagine. If we can train her ... she could turn into anyone. The Erlender King, if we needed. If we can train her … she could well be the one who ends the war.”
A deep and profound silence settled over the room. The only sound was the hum of electricity from the neon lights. Mala’s heartbeat pounded in her ears as she waited for the Ancients to decide her fate. A huge part of her wanted to sink into the floor. Or become invisible.
Tier stared at Fell, who offered a wide smile. “Instead of a trial, I propose a vote. Who here believes we should attempt to train this girl?” she asked.
Two hands rose immediately—and slowly, a dozen more followed suit. Eight hands, including Tier’s, remained down. Tier glared at Fell, then at Mala. His eyes roved over the other Ancients, some of whom kept their hands defiantly in the air as they stared back.
Tier finally spoke to Mala. His voice was a harsh, grating whisper. “Do you swear allegiance to all that is Kreis?” He waited until she nodded, then he continued. “Do you promise life and limb to the Senebal nation? Do you willingly enter the circle of blood and violence required to be a warrior?”
She nodded again. “I do.”
“Do you vow to exterminate, to kill in order to protect the Senebal people? Do you promise duty and diligence in the execution of your orders? Do you swear to put your duty as Kreis above all else?”
“I swear it.”
Tier stared for a moment, eyes slitted as he evaluated Mala. Then he muttered, “Release her. Bring out the brand.”
Fell unlocked the cuffs and stripped off the cloak. Lowe appeared at her side. He rubbed her sore wrists and whispered, “Mala, keep your eyes on me.” She looked up and saw his eyes shining. But he did not let a single tear fall. He moved his hands to gently cup her face. “You belong here. You will make a difference here. You will find revenge here. And if you want it, maybe something more.”
A panel opened in the smooth wall and a young boy backed into the room. The boy turned and Mala could see a glowing red poker. On its tip was a circle that symbolized all she would become. She clenched her teeth.
As her flesh burned, Mala kept her eyes riveted on Lowe. This is my future.
Chapter Seventeen
Word of her test traveled fast. Alba bounded into their hut at midnight and shook Mala awake, demanding to know if she really triggered into a bird when she'd been kissed. When she found out Mala had turned into a man instead, she laughed uproariously. “That beats my old maid for sure!” she'd giggled. That was, until she'd heard the full story. Then her face had grown serious and she'd asked a number of questions.
“You turned into Klaren ... the deranged?” Alba asked, her voice tiny in shock.
Mala thought back to the statue she'd seen and how disfigured it was from people dragging knives across its surface. She shivered, glad the rumor that she'd transformed into a bird was circulating instead. “Can you tell me more about what he did?”
Alba leaned forward conspiratorially, “He was one of the Ancients. He was giving Los a run for his money in number of kills. But on his last mission, the Kreis who went with him disappeared. Klaren said they'd gotten separated. No one thought anything of it. But a few nights later, they found Klaren in combat room two ... and he was holding another Kreis by the throat—crushing his windpipe, about to stab him in the stomach. Tier showed up. He killed Klaren himself. And then he noticed the other guy’s five-year-old son had been in the room the entire time. Messed up, right? It freaked everyone here out. Still does.”
Mala nodded. She tried not to picture the awful scene, but it ran on a loop in her head. The gasping struggle for air. A little boy crying as he watched his daddy slip away. The scene made her own haunted memories rise, her father’s earth-shattering scream as gasoline splashed down his shoulders and a torch … Mala shook herself.
“Do all Kreis go that crazy?” she asked.
Alba gave her a sad smile. “Not like that. But our job is hard.”
“Tier said Klaren might be my father.”
At that Alba gave a barking laugh. “If that were true, wouldn’t there be like twenty million Kreis babies running around this place? Even if this thing is genetic, Kreis don’t have Kreis babies, Mala. He was freaked out, is all.”
The pair sat in silence for a while. Alba picked at lint on her blankets. Mala tried think of a way to change the subject. But before one had formed on her tongue, Alba burst out, “It's so unfair!”
Mala looked up in surprise. “What is?”
“How come you can melt into Tier's worst nightmare and I can't even melt out of this damn old lady body!” She slammed her fist onto her knee. “Ow! See—look how totally useless I am. And Tier's already been to see me about this once.” She fell back onto her mattress dramatically.
Mala couldn't help but be both amused and grateful for the interruption. “What does Tier have to do with anything?”
“He's elected head of the Ancients. He assigns all our missions—well, approves them anyway. And he’ll never let me out like this.”
“Oh.” The girls sat for a while in companionable misery, as their hut bobbed on gentle waves.
“What made you meltdown in the first place? I mean, if you don’t mind telling me.”
Alba was silent for a minute before she answered. “I just freaked out.
I was in combat. Facing Verrukter. Which is distracting enough. Especially when he’s in gorgeous mode. And for no good reason, I kept picturing my grandma. The day before she died. She had all these regrets—you know? Stuff she’d never been able to do since the bomb. Stuff she’d taken for granted before. Like flying to another country or something—I can’t remember exactly. But like, pre-bomb stuff. Anyway, I couldn’t stay focused. I just kept thinking, ‘What am I going to regret? When it’s my time, what am I going to regret?’ And for some reason—this totally sounds hokey—but that question scares me to death.”
Silence filled the hut. Mala didn’t know how to respond. But Alba didn’t seem to expect comfort.
“How can you do it? Melt into other people?” Alba asked. “I mean, how does that fit with all the crap theories?”
“No clue,” Mala responded. “Hopefully, that’s something they can figure out.”
“Do you think … maybe you could …”
“If they figure out how, you’ll be the first person I tell.”
“Pinky promise?” Alba solemnly held out her little finger.
Mala smiled into the darkness. “Promise.” She linked pinkies with the other girl. It was the first time she’d ever made such a promise. Her heart swelled a little. Lowe. Ges. Alba. Though the ache in her chest remained, there was a glimmer in the darkness. A small glint of hope. Maybe. She almost didn’t dare to think it. It felt so awful and selfish and horrible after everything that had happened. Everyone she’d lost. But the thought wouldn’t let her resist. It pushed on her mind until she gave it voice. Maybe I’ve finally found where I belong.
After a while she sighed and rolled over. Mala stared at the reedy ceiling, until sleep stole over her.
The dream seeped in and she couldn't stop it. Mala moaned and turned restlessly, but the dream began to rise, flooding her mind. She saw her mother again, holding up an axe to chop off Sorgen’s leg as he cried, “No!” Then Sorgen transformed into an Erlender and her mother was eating his face like a wolf, tearing out strips of flesh. A twig cracked and Erinne glanced up, alert. Women streaked like gazelles through the trees on shore.
She heard red-headed Nar yelling after them, “How did they find us?” before tripping over a pile of bodies. And Mala could see them all, the blue dead faces of the children. Blut’s face was among them. They all had expressions of horror in their open, unblinking eyes.
Mala looked up to see Bara on her boat, shouting orders. “Tie him up!” And a group of men came forward and tied up her father. A bronze statue clanked forward with a torch and held it to her father's hair until it was ablaze. And then Mala was in the ropes herself, twisting and turning and trying to get away.
She woke up with a start. She was sweating. She glanced around the hut for a moment, forgetting where she was, wondering why her mother wasn’t curled up asleep beside her. Reality came crashing down like a thunderstorm.
Mala kicked off her covers and sidled toward the door, careful not to wake Alba. She dove into the water, seeking her old comfort, the familiarity of the waves. The cold water sent a chill up her spine, but Mala squeezed her eyes shut and dove into the depths.
The next morning, Mala trailed after Alba to the cafeteria in matching bright orange wetsuits. The circle cutouts along her backbone mercifully exposed her aching brand. Alba had helped her rub some ointment on it that morning, but it still prickled.
She spotted Ges as soon as she stepped inside. “Hey, I need to go request some research from Ges. I’ll see you later,” she called. She left a gape-jawed Alba in her wake as she scurried over to Ges’s table full of Typicals.
“Morning,” she said cheerily to them all. She pulled out a chair directly across from Ges and sat down. Immediately, the other four boys at the table scraped their chairs back, bowed politely and grabbed their trays, marching to a table on the far side of the room.
Mala raised an eyebrow at Ges.
“The rumor that you turned into a bird? That’s dead. The fact that you melted into Klaren? Tier and Fell’s resulting face-off—that’s the big gossip now.” He grinned and rolled his eyes, “Of course you had to get yourself tangled up in the biggest political showdown we’ve had in years.”
Mala stole an apple slice from his plate. “What do you mean?”
“Fell—that Ancient who stood up for you—is the head of the espionage unit. She oversees Lowe and a bunch of others. She also determines the final test before any Kreis goes on a first mission. She’s angling to be the next Head. Elections are in high summer. Maybe eight months away.”
Mala glanced around. Dozens of necks bent like straws as people strained to get a glimpse of her. “Muck. I just want to shove my head under the table and tell them to go away.”
Ges laughed. “Try it. Let me know if that works for you.” He swatted Mala’s hand as she tried to steal another apple slice. “So, what are you here for? Other than to steal my food? I’m assuming you didn’t make a public spectacle of sitting down with a Typical for no reason.”
“I had something I wanted you to check out for me. I don’t really know how this research assistant thing works. Bara’s guard was all together when we were attacked. And everyone was drunk. But we were in a secret location. I mean, nobody even knew where the celebration was going to be until just before. Even then, only one of Bara’s lieutenants could take you. So how did the Wilde group find us?”
Ges shook his head. “Mala, I don’t need to research to tell you what happened. Someone sold you guys out.”
Mala’s stomach dropped. Instinct told her Ges was right. “Who would do that?”
“Now that question will require some research.” Ges handed her an apple slice, but his hand froze midway across the table.
A shadow fell across Mala.
“Come. With Me. Now.”
Mala turned to see Ein, the tall scientist in his billowing silver cloak, looming over her. He glowered. “You’re late.”
Mala was about to give him a snarky retort, but Ges rushed in with a series of apologies. “Ein, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize she was supposed to be over at the lab right now or I would have taken her myself. I’m sorry.”
Mala rolled her eyes at Ges and stood up. “Lead the way.”
Ein turned and stomped off. Mala sighed as she followed him through the hall into a submarine.
As they rose in the water, Ein turned to address her again. “I told you to come to my lab at sunrise the day after your test. Why didn’t you?”
“Excuse me. I forgot—what with the trial to determine whether I should become Kreis or be killed on sight. That sort of thing is a little distracting.”
Ein’s lip gave a little curl, and she couldn’t decide whether he found her funny or was smirking at her. “Well, unfortunately for me, they decided to keep you. Which means we have a lot of work to do.”
“Oh joyous day.”
Ein ignored her and steered the ship to the docking port as he launched into a round of questions. “When did you first melt? How did it happen? What do you think caused it?”
True to her promise to Lowe, Mala only described the melt after she’d seen Bara. But it wasn’t enough for Ein.
“That’s the only time you’ve melted?”
“The only one.”
“You’re lying.”
“No, I’m not.”
Ein gave her a sidelong glance, before returning to steering. “Yes, you are. Your pulse is accelerating, you’re breathing rapidly, and you won’t make eye contact.”
Mala crossed her arms. “Did they have to assign me the rudest possible person at the Center?”
“Defensiveness and changing the subject are also characteristic traits of liars.” Ein docked the ship on the surface and turned toward her. He cocked his head with an expectant look. But Mala sealed her lips.
Ein stared at her for a bit and slowly a grin spread across his face. He took deliberately slow steps, stalking her. She backed up. He didn’t stop until she hit the wall
of the sub. And then he stood close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his chest.
What’s he doing? He made her feel childish and foolish and frightened all at once. Mudding jerk. Mala glared at his ribcage. She refused to look up at him.
Ein checked the lock on the door of the sub. Typicals repairing the floating platform turned to stare.
Ein put his arms on either side of her and leaned down, effectively trapping her. “Tell me the truth.”
Mala pushed against his arm to no avail. She saw the crowd gathering outside. “You’re making a spectacle—”
Ein slammed his hand into the wall right next to her head. The little vibrations in the metal rattled Mala’s skull. “No. I’m giving you a chance to answer in a space where no video cameras are around to monitor your answer. The same won’t be true anywhere else in the Center.”
Mala glared up at him, trying to decide whether sincerity was possible in such an arrogant face. Ein cocked his head, evaluating her with a long, lingering stare. “You obviously don’t want Tier to know. And there’s only one Kreis you could logically be protecting. So tell me. I need to know.”
“I’ve never—”
Ein leaned forward and whispered into her ear as one of his hands snaked around her neck. “Do NOT lie to me. If you don’t tell me, I’ll go to Tier. And let him question Lowe. Imagine how that little scene might play out.”
Mala bit her lip. “You won’t tell Tier?”
Ein released her neck and leaned back slightly, so they were eye-to-eye. His hazel orbs gleamed. “Your little trial yesterday? That was nothing. Lowe would be facing a lot worse. You promise not to waste my time with lies and I promise I won’t tell the old bastard anything.”
Mala took a deep breath. “I don’t think I trust you.”
Ein smiled dangerously. “I don’t think you should.” He traced a finger along her collarbone.