Wade gets up from his seat and walks to the door. “Get Rylin,” he tells the guard standing by.
When he comes back to the table, Wade says, “She’ll be able to tell us the exact positions of the Duskers’ archers and the best approach for the Zeroes and our foot soldiers.”
“The Easterners have some experience with explosives,” Valior muses. “If the Zeroes could give us cover, my people could take care of sealing up some of the citadel’s exits.”
“That would let us funnel those gray bastards up through just a few tunnels,” Tut says, his gold teeth flashing. “We could pick them off one at a time.”
“It wouldn’t matter that they have better soldiers than us if we cut off their ability to use their entire force against us at once.” Valior rubs his hands along the metal surface of his flask. He raises it to his lips, and then, changing his mind, puts it under the table without drinking.
“Halves can go in behind Zeroes,” Ekil offers once I’ve outlined the plan’s beginnings for him. “Kill the ones on the Outside.”
“I think Wokee has some cammamoss growing down in his orchards,” Dayne says. “It might be enough to help us surprise them.”
A sharp pang goes through my heart. I first learned about cammamoss in Tanguro, back when Brice and everyone else in the fortress was still alive. We covered our soldiers with it, and it made them next to invisible.
“I like this plan,” Liglette announces. “It is very bold. The Duskers will not expect it.”
No, they won’t. I allow myself a moment to imagine the look on Crowe’s face when we march through the tunnels of her citadel, not as her prisoners, but as conquerors.
This is for my aunt, I’ll say. Right before I cut her throat.
“I’ll grant you the plan has spirit.” Valior sits back, steepling his fingers on the table in front of him. “It’ll save time, too. We’ll send the messengers to the Banished lands as planned, but we’ll have the rest of the Solguards following behind. Once we’re all convened, we’ll go straight on to Malarusk together.”
“It needs some finesse,” Dayne says, “but it’s a good plan.”
“Then it’s decided,” Valior says. “Make your preparations. We should leave as soon as everyone can be readied.”
“The sooner we get to Malarusk,” Wade agrees, “the better our chances will be of getting to them first.”
“There’s something else,” I say, just remembering. “When I was passing through the Dusker territory on my way here, I saw this smoke….”
There’s a soft knock at the door, and then a guard walks in.
“Begging your pardon.” The guard’s face is bright red as he addresses Wade. “We have a problem, Sir.”
“You may speak freely here,” Wade says, motioning for the guard to come forward.
“You asked for Rylin, but the thing is,” the guard clears his throat. “She’s gone.”
“Find Dellin,” Wade says. “Either Ry will be with her, or she’ll know where to find her.”
I stifle my irritation.
“That’s just the thing.” The guard shifts on his feet. “Dellin’s gone, too.”
Wade, Dayne, and I look at each other.
“Perhaps they went for a walk?” Liglette asks.
“They were seen flying out on the hyenair.” The guard shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Sir,” he tells Wade. “We just assumed, I mean, I just thought….” He clears his throat again, his face turning an even deeper red. “No one thought to stop them.”
“Not your fault.” Wade waves a hand. “I’m sure there’s an explanation.”
When the guard continues to stand in the doorway, shifting uncomfortably, Wade raises his eyebrows.
“Anything else?” he asks.
I can’t help but notice the way authority seems to roll off Wade.
It’s so different from the boy I first met…the one who talked too much, who always had a smile and a joke ready, who trained me how to fight. When I look at Wade now, that boy is gone, replaced with someone hardened by loss and responsibility. There’s something tragic about it, and it makes me hate the Duskers even more.
“The boy, Wokee.”
At the mention of Wokee’s name, my attention shifts back to the conversation.
The guard looks at Wade. “I believe he knows where they’ve gone.”
CHAPTER 42
Dayne, Wade, and I find Wokee in Vlaz’s empty nest. He’s sitting on a mound of straw, fingering the embroidered blue ribbon he’s been carrying around since the feast. As soon as he sees us, he balls it up and shoves it in his pocket.
“What are the Crystal Caves?” Wokee asks without preamble.
It takes me a moment to remember where I’ve heard of them before. Aunt Jadem said those words when I mentioned the story my mother used to tell me about a clear river and beautiful caves.
At first, I’m surprised Wokee has heard the story, too. But then I remember my mother got most of her tales from traders who passed through the Subterrane territory. Some of those traders likely would have gone to the settlements in the Banished lands, as well. I guess it makes sense the Dwellers and Banished share some of the same stories.
“Just a legend,” I say.
Dayne gives me a strange look. “The Crystal Caves are quite real.”
I start. “But Aunt Jadem said it was just a story our mother made up.”
Dayne raises an eyebrow. “I happen to know it was where our mother used to meet with my father, before she married Zeidan.” His eyes find mine.
“Our mother?”
Dayne nods.
I shake my head, trying to process what this means. “But if the Crystal Caves are a real place, why did Aunt Jadem say it was just a story?”
“I haven’t the faintest idea.” Dayne shrugs. “She must have known they were real.”
I think back to my conversation with my aunt. I remember the strange looks and the forced smiles. I hadn’t understood them then.
“Why would she have lied?” I ask.
Saying those words, implying my aunt deceived me, hurts.
“What does any of this have to do with Ry’s disappearance?” Wade asks. He glances at the doorway where guards and scouts are lining up to speak with him.
“I was coming to check on Vlaz,” Wokee explains. “Ry and Dellin were inside and they were whispering, so I stayed outside and listened.” He gives us an apologetic look. “I know eavesdropping is rude, but they were acting weird.”
“What did you overhear?” Dayne asks.
“Ry had something Jadem had given her. I didn’t get a good look,” Wokee wrinkles his nose in concentration, “but I think it was a key.”
I remember when Aunt Jadem gave Ry something at the feast, and I thought it might be a key. It must have been the same one Wokee saw today.
“And the Crystal Caves?” Dayne presses. “What were they saying about the Crystal Caves?”
“I think Jadem left Ry some kind of note before she died that said to go there,” Wokee says. His voice hitches on the word died.
“And Dellin went with her?” Wade asks.
Wokee nods. “The strangest part is when I came into the cave, they both acted like they didn’t want me to know what they were up to.”
Wade lets out a breath.
“They know how to steer Vlaz?” Dayne asks.
Wokee nods. “I should have stopped them, but it was Ry, so I didn’t think—” he breaks off and then looks at me. “Am I in trouble?”
“Of course not,” I tell him.
“Why wouldn’t she tell us she was leaving?” Wade asks, his brow furrowed.
“If Dellin is some kind of spy,” Dayne begins, but Wade cuts him off.
“I know Ry,” he says. “And she’s not a traitor.”
“Maybe Dellin tricked her somehow,” I say. “Or forced her.”
“Ry isn’t stupid or helpless,” Wade replies. “If she’s with Dellin, it’s because she wants to be.”
&
nbsp; I feel a quick stab of annoyance. How could Wade be so sure of her? In the smallest part of my mind, I wonder if he would have defended me the same way if it had been me who disappeared.
Of course, he would have, the rational part of my brain says. And it’s an irrelevant thought, anyway.
“She told me not to tell any of you she was leaving,” Wokee says. “I don’t think she wanted you to follow her.”
“That much is clear,” Dayne says. “The question is why?”
“And why would she bring Dellin with her instead of us?” I add.
We’re all silent for a moment.
“We have to go after her,” I decide. No matter how much everyone wants to trust Dellin, Ry might still be in trouble.
“The Crystal Caves are far from here, farther than any of the other territories,” Dayne says. “It would take weeks to get there.”
“I’m sure they’ll be back soon,” Wade says without much confidence. “We’re probably worrying for nothing.”
Dayne nods. “The Crystal Caves were abandoned years ago when Burn vultures started to nest nearby. Whatever she’s hoping to find, I guarantee it’s not there.”
“In and out,” Wade says. “With Vlaz, they’ll be back in no more than a day.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Dayne tells me, reading my thoughts. “You can’t go running off to a place none of us has ever been with a hundred Zeroes trailing you.”
“We can’t run the risk of a Dusker seeing the Zeroes,” Wade agrees. “And I don’t want the Banished leaders thinking anything is wrong. They’re skittish enough as it is.”
I don’t say anything and neither does Wokee. His eyes are fixed on the spot in the room where all of the supply packs made specially for hooking around Vlaz’s harness usually rest. They’re all gone.
✽✽✽
High day comes, and Ry and Dellin are still missing. Either they’ve made it to their destination, or they’re holed up in a travel cave somewhere en route.
I leave the note I hastily scribbled for Wade with my father, since he’s the only one in the fortress who doesn’t see Wade as his leader. He’s also the only one who won’t try to stop me.
Wade and Dayne will be furious with me for leaving without them, but by the time they find out I’m gone, they won’t be able to do anything about it.
When I told him where I was going, my father offered to lead the Zeroes to the Eastern settlement. I bit back a comment about never trusting him enough for that, considering how he’s done nothing but help me since rescuing us from the Duskers. I asked him instead to keep feeding the Zeroes while I was gone. He’d done it from the beginning, and I had no interest in hunting the mystery meat my father was always feeding them. He was right about the Zeroes needing to follow someone in my absence, though. The only person I could bear to have authority over them was my brother. So, before I left, I commanded the Zeroes to follow Dayne when the Solguards left the fortress.
I asked Liglette if she knew where to find the Crystal Caves. As the leader of the Western Banished—a people who survived by following the stag herds across territories, digging crude caves where they stayed for only a few months before moving on again—I figured she would have come across the place in her travels.
Part of me hoped Liglette would wrinkle her brow and laugh, telling me the Crystal Caves were a myth, just like Aunt Jadem told me. But she didn’t. She just told me the straightest path to find them.
It’s easy to steal out of the fortress without anyone looking twice at me; Solguards and Halves are throwing supplies into packs, sharpening weapons, and planning routes. No one even glances at me as I make my way up the thousand steps and to the archway that leads to the Outside.
It’s high day, and I’m alone. Even though the air is stifling, I feel free in a way I never do during low day. No one else can survive more than a few minutes in this sun’s intensity. And so, for the next twelve hours, the Outside is mine, and mine alone.
“I’m coming for you, Ry,” I say.
And you, Dellin. Because no matter what everyone else thinks, I know she’s behind whatever’s happened to Ry. And if Dellin is a Dusker spy like I’m sure she is, then it will make it all the easier to kill her along with Crowe.
I curl my right hand, the one emblazoned with the Solguard tattoo, over my heart as I look back at the fortress.
And then I’m running.
THE END
✽✽✽
Because reviews are so important for a book to be successful, please consider leaving a brief review on Amazon if you enjoyed Halve Human. Many thanks!
✽ ✽ ✽
Book 3 in the Bisecter Series, Dusker Dark, is now available!
Acknowledgements
It seems like I just finished writing my acknowledgements for Bisecter, but now, here we are with Book 2 in the series. I couldn’t be more thrilled, and I have so many people to thank for the way it has turned out.
First and foremost, to my incredible husband, Andrew. Thank you for the late-night brainstorming sessions, endless mugs of tea, and for filling my every day with so much laughter and love. Especially love. There is no one I would rather share this amazing journey with.
To my parents. Thank you for believing in me long before I believed in myself.
Thank you, Rachel, for being the best sister anyone could ever ask for. And thank you, Julie, for being my bestie. I love you both.
To my amazing team, who helped bring my dream to life. Huge thanks to Ellen Schaeffer, Whitney Dorr, Teodora Chinde, and Sebastian Lacle. You all made the process, and not just the outcome, so much fun. Your creativity is truly inspiring.
For my earliest readers, who made incredible suggestions that brought the book to new and exciting places. Special thanks to Bob Brodsky and the rest of my ARC team. Thank you for your patience and belief in this work.
And thank you to my readers, for your support and enthusiasm. You all inspire me to strive for better with each book.
About the Author:
Stephanie Fazio is a young adult and new adult fantasy author. Stephanie grew up in Syracuse, New York, and prior to writing full time, she worked in the fields of journalism, secondary education, and higher education. She has an undergraduate degree in English from Colgate University and a Master’s degree in Reading, Writing, and Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Austin with her husband and crazy rescue dog. When she isn’t writing, she’s getting lost in parks, hosting taco nights, or ironically and miserably losing word games, but having fun while she does it.
Connect with Stephanie Fazio
Visit her Website: https://www.stephaniefazio.com
Sign up for her Newsletter: https://stephaniefazio.com/subscribe/
continue the series
Dusker Dark
Book 3 in the Bisecter Series
Available to order now!
Halve Human Page 24