by Kyle West
“Not shocked,” Valance said. “It was quite obvious that you sympathized with it. Why, out of all those hundreds of people, were you the only one to do so? Everyone in Colonia learns that the dragons are an irredeemable evil. They learn that with their mother’s milk. Only the males – the Askaleen – can be controlled. It is of the Radaska that we must be especially afraid.”
I didn’t know what he expected me to say, so I remained silent.
“What you did was surely brave. It was also brash. The Radaska are not to be trusted. They are the enemies of the Annaran Covenant. They keep well away, usually, confined to the Red Wild. However, sometimes, when a mother dragon is killed, people will hunt for her eggs or her young, both of which can sell for a fortune.” Valance paused. “Normally, I wouldn’t be so interested in a matter like this, but I found your interaction with the dragonling to be something meriting further investigation.”
My stomach gave a nervous turn even as Valance smiled mildly.
“You seemed to be quite focused on the dragon, to the exclusion of everything else. It was only when the dragon keeper whipped you that you came to your senses.” He paused. “Something I didn’t endorse, but nonetheless, it happened. It makes me wonder; were you, in any manner whatsoever, directly communicating with the Radaska?”
I felt my skin go cold, but I shook my head vehemently. “No. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Valance nodded, as if expecting that answer. “Come now. Do you take me for a fool? I’m merely giving you a chance to admit the truth. Doing so would be in your best interests. We have...other ways...of procuring an admission of guilt.”
I said nothing, but my heart started racing. For all I knew, Valance was bluffing, and the last thing I wanted to do was admit guilt. I had communicated with that dragon, but far be it from me to actually admit it.
“Again,” I said, fighting to keep my voice steady, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I thought you might say something like that,” Valance said. “No matter. I have another means by which I can persuade you to talk.”
Father Valance suddenly stood, and I became all the more aware of his height and strength. His face bore a menacing scowl, and he stared at me with angry eyes.
“I will give you one more opportunity to tell the truth, Shanti. Did you communicate with the Radaska?”
I did my best to match his gaze, but my heart was about to beat out of my chest. To my surprise, my voice came out strong. “No. For the final time, no. I have no idea what you’re talking about. How could I have communicated with something that can’t even speak?”
“Very well,” Valance said. “Please remain seated. And don’t even try to leave. The Peacemakers stand guard outside this door, so such an action would be futile, not to mention indicative of your guilt.”
I bit my lip. Arguing with Valance would get me nowhere. I was terrified about what he might know, and my not knowing was the worst part. I never asked for that dragon to talk to me. Somehow, though, Valance knew it had happened, or he at least suspected it.
Valance left the room, shutting the door gently behind. I sagged in my seat and stared at the gray stones of the floor. I fought the urge to cry. Everything inside of me felt tight, as if there was nothing I could do to get out of this.
I didn’t know how to convince Valance. I knew torture was something the Hunters did, to extract a confession, but it seemed impossible that something like this could ever happen to me, a seventeen-year-old girl.
All the same, there was what the dragon had said. Three fateful words that determined my place before the Annaran Covenant.
You are Elekai.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
LONG MINUTES PASSED AS I tried to weigh my options. If I kept silent, I was afraid of what they might do to get me to confess, but if I came clean, I lost. I knew what happened to Elekai or those who sympathized with them.
I thought of my parents waiting above in the sanctuary. What would they be thinking now? Valance had said this wouldn’t take long, and I had been here for at least half an hour.
At last, I heard a noise from the corridor outside – the squeaking of wheels bumping over floor stones. A moment later, the thick wooden door opened, revealing Valance.
“Get up,” he said. “Come into the corridor.”
I closed my eyes for a moment and drew a deep breath.
Annara, watch over me. You know my innocence.
I stood and turned, making sure not to look at Valance. I walked into the corridor and was struck silent by the sight before me.
Inside a cage with thick iron bars was the very same Radaska I had seen yesterday. Its eyes were closed and its form still, and if it weren’t for its moving chest, I would have thought it was dead.
I tried to keep my expression neutral, but already, I could feel the blood draining from my face, and my skin broke into a cold sweat. I had no control over these reactions, but Valance would have been a fool not to notice them.
“Shanti,” Valance said. “My request is very simple.”
I frowned, afraid of what he was going to say. He nodded to one of the nearby Peacemakers, who withdrew a key from his pocket. He placed it in the lock, turned it, and pulled the door open. The dragon didn’t even bother to move.
“What are you doing?”
A cruel smile spread across his thin lips. “I want you to reach out and touch it.”
I stared at Valance, wondering if he was serious. He nodded at the cage, as if to hurry me along.
“I can’t do that,” I said. “What if it hurts me? You said it was evil.”
“This is a test, Shanti. I promise you will come to no harm in touching the dragon. It has been sedated. Now, reach into the cage. Touch the dragon; anyplace is fine.”
“And if I refuse?”
“If you refuse, you will be forced. Much better to do it the easy way.”
I gave a slow nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. I wasn’t afraid the Radaska would hurt me; I just didn’t understand why Valance was making me do this. He was looking for something, and he would find it as soon as my hand touched the dragon. But the longer I waited, the more it would seem as if I were hiding something.
There was nothing I could do but obey his command.
I reached my hand through the open door. The dragon gave no reaction, merely remaining still. As my hand moved forward, Valance’s eyes drank in the moment. He gave a final, cold nod, and at last, I was touching the dragon’s black scales.
I was surprised by their warmth – it was much warmer than a person’s skin. The dragon shivered at my touch, but I kept my hand there and looked at Valance.
“Stay still, and keep your eyes open. Don’t blink.”
He stepped forward and looked into my eyes. He stared for a long time, and I looked to the side out of embarrassment. But Valance didn’t seem to care. I didn’t know what he was doing, and I just wanted it to end.
After a moment, he pulled back, giving a single nod. He seemed disappointed.
“Alright, that’s enough,” he said.
I withdrew my hand, and as I did so, the dragon opened its eyes, which were blazing and glowing.
Valance sprang into action. “Lock the door, Joachim.”
The Peacemaker hurried to close the cage, but before he could do so, the Radaska’s tail stiffened, pushing against the door with surprising strength. It slammed open, pushing Joachim against the wall. Before anyone could do anything, the Radaska emitted a long, snakelike hiss, slamming itself against the side of the cage. The structure toppled and clattered to the stone floor with the door facing up. The dragon tried in vain to exit, letting out a pathetic squeal when it couldn’t pull itself out.
Valance withdrew his long, curved sword from its scabbard.
“No!” I said.
“Restrain the girl,” Valance said.
Two of the Peacemakers grabbed me, preventing me from doing anything. The Radaska was scrambling to esca
pe, successfully flipping the cage to where the open door became level with the floor. But before the dragonling could scamper out, Valance circled around to greet it, his sword aloft. The Radaska’s wings unfurled and its neck stiffened as it faced Valance.
“I thought it was sedated!” one of the Peacemakers said.
Now standing, the Radaska was surprisingly large, and might even be a match for the Hunter. Valance marked the dragon’s every move, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
“Don’t!” I screamed.
I had said it to the dragon, not wanting it to die, but Valance seemed to think I said it to him. I struggled against the two Peacemakers holding me, but there was nothing I could do but watch in horror. Valance thrust at the Radaska, but it jumped back.
There was only one thing I could do. I had to warn the dragon in a way it could understand.
Stop, I thought. Please. They’ll kill you if you don’t.
The dragon’s eyes went to me, and within them was a deep sorrow that echoed inside me, as if I were feeling it myself. At my command, it seemed to calm and back itself toward the cage, its glowing eyes looking at me the entire time.
“Lock it in,” Valance said.
Two Peacemakers held the cage fast while Joachim closed and locked it. Even now, with the Radaska secured, its eyes remained on me.
“Her eyes...” one of the Peacemakers said.
At first, I thought they were talking about the dragon, but they couldn’t be, because they were all looking at me, their eyes wide with fear. The two Peacemakers let me go, even as the others backed away.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “What about my eyes?”
I looked at Valance, who smiled victoriously, as if he had found exactly what he was looking for. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a hand mirror, that horrible smile never going away.
“Look,” he said, holding up the mirror. “There was but a glimmer of this at the fairgrounds, but I was sure of what I saw. I see now that I was correct.”
I looked in the mirror and gasped in horror. My eyes looked like the Radaska’s – completely white and glowing. Their usual green color was all but gone.
I screamed, not believing what I was seeing. I closed my eyes even as Valance began to give orders.
“Bind the Elekai.”
“No!” I screamed. “I’m not Elekai!”
But my words were no use. Already, the Peacemakers were grabbing me by the shoulders, even as Valance stared coldly.
“What are we to do with her, Father?” Joachim asked.
Valance’s eyes narrowed. “Take her to the pit. The Grand Council must be let known about this.”
“No! You can’t do this! I’ve done nothing wrong! I’m not Elekai!”
“Her eyes are changing back, now,” one of the other Peacemakers said. “What does it mean?”
“She’s still a demon,” the one called Joachim said.
“I’m not a demon!”
“Take her now,” Valance said.
Valance turned away, and was lost to sight as the Peacemakers moved me around a corner. I continued to scream and fight, but it was pointless. How could this be true? I didn’t understand how I was Elekai. Was it something I’d caught from the dragon?
I looked up to see a single wooden door at the end of the corridor. It was opened by Joachim, and we passed into a dark, cylindrical room, where most of the floor was made up of a circular, metal grate, about five paces across. A single torch provided the only lighting.
I looked down at the grate, but beyond was only darkness. A foul smell issued from below.
When I realized they intended to put me there, I screamed.
One of the Peacemakers holding me spoke. “It’s better than you deserve, demon.”
Joachim knelt to unlock the trapdoor on the grate. A wooden ladder stood against the pit’s side.
“I didn’t do anything! I don’t know why that happened...why my eyes did that...please, you have to believe me...”
Joachim now had the door open, and my captors forced me in that direction.
“Either you go down of your own accord,” Joachim said, “or we throw you down. Which will it be?”
There was nothing I could do. I was no match for six Peacemakers. I started to cry again, but it seemed as if they had no sympathy for me. They truly believed I was a demon.
“I can’t do this...”
“Then allow us.”
I screamed as I was picked up and dropped right in front of the hatch.
“Get on with it,” Joachim said. “I’m pushing in three seconds.”
I waited just a moment before I knelt down, placing my hands on the top of the ladder. After I had climbed down a few rungs, the latch above slammed shut. The darkness deepened as I descended, and the stench worsened, smelling of sweat and urine. I wanted to throw up, and I had to fight back gagging at the putrid air.
By the time I made it to the floor, it was almost completely dark. One of the men spit, after which they exited the room. The door slammed above, reverberating into cold silence.
CHAPTER TWELVE
HOURS PASSED. BY NOW, MY eyes had adjusted enough to see the far wall, a mere five steps away. The floor was of bare dirt, and the fetid stench clung to the cold air and never fully went away. I didn’t know if any amount of time would get me used to it.
I’d stopped crying an hour ago. It wasn’t doing any good, because none but the gods above could hear me. I wondered what they thought of this whole situation. Surely they could see that I wasn’t at fault for anything, but at the same time, why would they care about a demonic Elekai?
Anytime I remembered my eyes in the mirror, I felt unspeakable shame and revulsion. So instead, I tried not to think, but this proved impossible. I could only feel regret – for what, I couldn’t say. It didn’t seem I could have prevented this.
The grate was about twenty feet over my head, and the single torch on the wall above was my only source of light. There was nothing in the pit other than a large wooden bucket, which I stayed as far from as possible. Judging by the smell, it hadn’t been emptied in a while. I could only hope I wasn’t down here long enough to use it.
There was no sound – no voices, no doors opening and shutting – just maddening silence. Even my thoughts felt quiet, always returning to the dragon. Somehow, touching it had triggered a reaction in my eyes. Or had it happened when I spoke to it? Even Valance had said he’d seen a glimmer of it at the fairgrounds.
Had I always been Elekai, or was it a disease I’d caught? Why would it choose to show up now? Had my parents always known? The only person who could tell me anything had locked me in here hours ago. The thought of my parents not knowing my fate was maddening. If being Elekai was something one inherited, they could be in danger, too.
I closed my eyes, suppressing a shiver. I just lay with my back against the cold stone wall, wrapping my cloak tighter around me. If I could just sleep, perhaps this would go more quickly.
AS THE HOURS PASSED, I grew increasingly hungry and thirsty. I hadn’t had a drink or eaten since leaving the apartment this morning.
After a while, I tried to explore the pit. I knew it was probably pointless, but I wanted to see if there was any possible way to escape. However, the stone walls were worn smooth, and there was no chance of climbing them. Even if I made it to the top, the latch was locked.
I wondered how such a horrible place was hidden under the Red Cathedral. It seemed wrong that a place of veneration and beauty could hold such a dark secret. They wouldn’t throw just any prisoner in here; they had actual prisons for that. This cell was probably reserved for special cases – namely, heretics and apostates of the Annaran Covenant.
And, I supposed, Elekai.
The punishment for heresy was to be burned until dead. Being an Elekai was even worse, though. What would they do to me? I couldn’t face the reality that I was going to die. It seemed impossible. This had all happened far too quickly to feel real.
There was little hope of my being allowed any sort of defense. Elekai were allowed no rights, and it had been years since one was found within Colonia’s borders. The Hunters had seen to that over the generations. It was something that just didn’t happen anymore.
At least, it didn’t until today.
AT SOME POINT, MY THOUGHTS drifted, and I fell into a light doze, out of which I was startled when the grate above slammed open. I opened my eyes only to see a shadowed figure silhouetted against the flickering torch.
“Please,” I said, standing up. “You have to let me out.”
The person ignored me, instead lowering a pail on a rope. The pail landed roughly in the dirt, flipping on its side and spilling some sour-smelling liquid. In the darkness, I could make out formless lumps. I realized it was intended to be my dinner.
The grate above slammed and locked, and the man walked in the direction from which he had come.
“No!” I screamed. “Please, you have to release me!”
The door closed, leaving me once again in maddening silence.
I slid against the wall until I was sitting, and buried my face in my hands. I scrunched myself as small as I could go and started crying all over again.
I looked at the pail through my tears. I didn’t even want to reach for it, but I was hungry. Not that it mattered any; it had almost completely spilled on the floor, and the smell of the soup intermixed with the rankness of the cell made me nauseous.
I lay down on my side with my back to the wall, trying to ignore the gnawing at my belly and my growing thirst. My hopelessness was soon replaced with indignation. How this could even happen, how this could even be real, was beyond me. I was only seventeen. Two days ago, my father had come home from the war in answer to my prayer to Annara. Why had she seen fit to throw me in here? Was she even listening?
Annara, you know my innocence. If there is any justice in this world...any justice at all...set me free.
As expected, nothing but cold silence was my answer. It was as if Annara herself had turned her back on me.