Cadence

by Wilson, Dianne J. ;

  Ruaan hauled his out from under his t-shirt. “If you ask me, the problem with Runt is that she meddled with a necklace that wasn’t her own. That’s a stupid thing to do, you know?” He bounced his on his flat palm. “This one is mine. I can feel it with every cell in my body. So far there’ve been no negative effects. In fact, I’ve never felt better.”

  Evazee reached for her amulet and slipped it over her head.

  A guy sitting close to them with close-cropped black hair sat up straight from a deep slouch. “Hey! I also want one. Surely we’ve all got one. Where did you find yours?”

  Ruaan and Zap exchanged a worried look. Zap answered, slowly, mulling over every word. “The amulets are being kept in a vault deep in enemy territory. You can only get your own out. Kai nearly lost his hand getting to this one.”

  Ruaan rubbed his chin. “Maybe we need an old-fashioned field trip.”

  “And maybe you need your head read.”

  ~*~

  Kai sat shivering in the sludge at the bottom of a well so deep, the sky was a tiny blue circle above that could have been the moon. Zulu’s dad had been right. This well hadn’t seen water for a long time. He considered climbing out with his legs propped up on one side and his hands on the other, but the thought of breaking a few bones when his muscles failed was a little off-putting.

  Impatience and frustration burned through his veins. He’d fought on his captor’s shoulder, but all he had to show for it was a swollen egg on the back of his head that had knocked him out for the entire trip. He’d woken up in this hole in the dark and yelled until his throat burned, but nobody came. Hours—days?—later, the sun turned the sky a blushing pink, then orange, settling into the moody blue that hovered over him now.

  Being able to see felt better for a little while, but then it all seemed much worse as he was fully aware of how deeply buried he was.

  The atmosphere was heavy, yet his Affinity was off the charts. Every second blink brought a wash of green over everything that surrounded him. Was it even possible for a place to be this broken?

  Right now, he should be back at the OS, dishing out amulets and watching chains fall off. Instead he was stuck down here, more useless than pond scum. He slammed his foot into the well bricks in frustration. Instead of a solid thunk, the sound bounced around inside the well wall as if it were hollow.

  Kai got onto his knees and pressed each stone carefully. Running his fingers along the grooves, he felt for anything that would give way. It didn’t feel like the spiritual realm, but he’d long ago stopped expecting anything to be what it seemed.

  He’d been trapped in rocks before, and he’d sung his way out. The rock had exploded, which would be disastrous in this situation. He would end up buried. Kai rubbed his temples. Things were so much simpler when he was little. See the green, follow his gut, and sorted. It was all more complicated now.

  Or was it?

  He shoved aside the frustration and panic of being stuck. Took a deep breath and thought of Tau. Jesus. Tau melted through rocks with his fingers in the spiritual realm. But this was normal life. Rocks don’t melt unless there’s lava-inducing heat involved.

  Kai placed his fingertips on the stone in front of him and leaned in close with his ear against the cold stone. He hummed, a middle-pitched vibration from deep in his lungs. He raised the level, going higher, but nothing happened. He drew a deep breath and dropped the hum low, and his chest vibrated against the smooth surface. A vibration rippled through the side of the well, a mere dragonfly breath on a lake. Was it real? Or imagination?

  Another deep breath, and Kai shut his eyes, allowing the sound to come out. The rocks trembled violently, and Kai stopped, fearing a cave-in that would bury him alive. All around him, bright green cracks showed around each stone. He touched one and it shot open, not just a rock, but a drawer.

  Hardly daring to breathe, Kai peered in. The inside of the rock drawer was a midnight-sky velvety-shade of black. An amulet lay tucked inside the rock drawer. Kai peered in at it as if it were a live snake. There were markings on the amulet, but they didn’t mean anything to Kai.

  He moved over to try another one. This one popped open within seconds, another amulet tucked away inside. This was not an ordinary well, this well was a cupboard. A safe. A vault much like what they’d found at The Crux. Without warning, the first rock drawer he’d opened slid shut. Within a minute, the second one did too. They seemed to be on a timer.

  His insides crawled at what each of these harmless-looking amulets represented. He opened a drawer again, and a sideways thought hit him. That drawer was just big enough for him to step on. He hooked his foot up and lifted off the ground. The drawer carried his weight. This was promising.

  Slamming his hands against the rocks, he buzzed open a row of drawers, each higher than the last. If he timed this right, he might just be able to make it out. If not, he might fall to his death. By the look of it, they were leaving him in this hole anyway, so what did he have to lose?

  Kai rolled his shoulders, clicked his neck to the side and hit the wall. Five steps, working clockwise around the well, each higher than the last. He climbed up, cautiously at first, but soon feeling more confident, hitting more drawers open as he went.

  He kept his focus down, swinging between the drawer beneath his feet and the next drawer in. About two metres up, the amulet in the drawer caught his eye. The mark on the front matched the scar on Zulu’s face. All of them glowed green, broken—but this one pulsed and shone. He hesitated for a split second before dipping down, grabbing it, and shoving it in his pocket.

  The wait was a split second too long, and the drawer slid shut, pushing his foot off. Kai scrambled for the open drawer above, but he missed, slipped and fell, crashing to the floor of the well, landing on his knees in the ooze with enough force to topple him sideways. His head hit the side, and he landed with a smack that knocked his wind out.

  ~*~

  The door opened. It was a priest—the one built like a warrior. He sauntered through the room, studying each person up and down before moving on. When he got to Evazee, he stopped.

  “You. Come.” He didn’t wait for her to comply but just leaned down and lifted her by an arm. His fingers were cold steel on her muscles, numbing them. There’d be no quick pull away from this guy. She caught Zap’s eye and shook her head. She could see his mind working overtime in his gaze. Now didn’t seem like a good time to pick a fight.

  His face dropped and took on a resigned look that she’d seen sometimes when he lost an argument. He must have eavesdropped on her thoughts, and he didn’t seem to like what he’d heard.

  A second priest came in. The warrior motioned towards Runt, Paintbrush, and Peta, calling them out with a hooked finger. They came out willingly, no doubt to keep their friends safe. Well trained by this harsh environment.

  The two priests marched them all down to the basement where the other priests waited in a semi-circle around the testing arch. A low, rumbling hum came from their chests that made the walls quiver.

  The Warrior forced the three to their knees and half the other priests left their arch-guarding duty to surround those on floor.

  The other priest pointed at Evazee. "You. Go fetch boys. Come back. Otherwise...” He motioned to the younger ones and ran a thumb across the base of his throat.

  Evazee knew exactly what he meant.

  The thought of stepping into that arch again, only alone this time, was enough to make Evazee break out in a cold sweat. But it was that, or the little ones would suffer. She stepped towards the arch, her legs quivering like jelly.

  The priests gave her no time to think or hesitate.

  A firm foot in the small of her back persuaded her it was time. She toppled through the opening and fell for what felt like forever.

  When she finally landed, it was dark and soggy. She came down with a splash of cold water that instantly soaked her jeans up to mid-thigh. Thick darkness pressed in, lit purple in the distance by dotted, glowing spl
odges too far to be identifiable, but Evazee knew exactly where she was.

  She’d stepped out of the arch straight into the marshes of the village of Benan. Zulu’s own village. The testing arch was so far beyond broken, Evazee nearly laughed, but then she thought of the sand worm that had tried to eat her the last time and she wanted to cry.

  22

  Kai lay on his back in the mud watching the stars dance across his vision. Breathing hurt. Getting out of this hole was not impossible, but the pain in his shoulder and ribs made him nervous to try again. If he’d been higher when he fell, he’d be a broken bag of bones right now.

  Tau—Jesus, if Evazee was right—He could help. But for the fact that he was more silent now than before Kai had met him face-to-face. He wouldn’t show up and he probably wasn’t listening, but Kai spoke to him anyway. “Do you want to give me some clues here, please? That serum distribution isn’t waiting for me to get out of here.”

  Kai groaned as he lay there in the sludge, cold slowly knotting his back. He felt the bulge in his pocket. The injection full of Affinity serum. His belly twisted at the thought, but it was an option.

  ~*~

  Evazee sloshed along, stepping slow then fast, hoping to keep her movement irregular enough to avoid waking the worms. But the water was cold and it cramped her muscles. It lapped at her armpits, splashing her face if she moved too fast. In the distance, she saw a rough, wooden platform. The stilt houses must be close. Getting out of this water couldn’t happen soon enough. It might be close enough to make a dash for. Steeling herself, she waded fast, focusing on reaching her goal.

  Bubbles rose from the sand beneath her feet. Evazee slowed slightly to see if the bubbles stopped, but they increased until it felt like a a pot of boiling water around her. High pitched shrieking started up from behind. The worms.

  Throwing off caution, Evazee ran. The thigh-high water slowed her and her frozen muscles didn’t want to co-operate.

  Gurgling, the water sucked her backwards, a tide going out too strong to resist. It dragged Evazee along, pulled her off her feet. Icy cold stole her breath and she fought to keep her head above the surface. She tumbled sideways and screamed underwater. The bubbles rose as a cavernous mouth opened up over her. She was being sucked into a sandworm. Panic blistered through her veins and she scrambled frantically. This was a big one. Its mouth closed over her, the churning water stilled and she floated in the eerie blackness of a cave.

  Her mind darted wildly. This couldn’t be happening. A deep wave, a convulsion, started at one end of the worm, working its way to the front. A tidal wave of swamp water carried Evazee on its crest. Dim light flooded over her as the worm reared up, it’s skin translucent. She fell on the backbone of a waterfall from the thing’s foul gut, only to ride the wave deeper into its belly once more. Over and over, each time it bucked and reared, Evazee was thrown forward and back. A scream fought its way out, and she clamped her jaw hard to keep it in.

  ~*~

  Icy sludge slipped through Kai’s veins like venom. Shouldn’t have done this. But it was too late. Short of bleeding out, there was no way to remove serum from one’s veins. This was his rodeo bull to ride now, and he just hoped he’d be alive by the end of it.

  His eyelids weighed a baby elephant each, but he forced them open and wished he hadn’t. The walls of the well had turned see-through, and he could see water beyond the glass, though it was tinged luminous purple. He rubbed his fingers along the wall, feeling the shape of stones that had been there seconds before. This wasn’t glass, but rather something like tough old jelly. Not quite slimy, but close enough to make his belly heave.

  The ground below his feet was visible through the murky water, shifting with the odd tides in the river water. A bubble popped through the sand and scurried to the surface, quickly rising beyond where Kai could see. The blue sky overhead was now greasy green, turgid and brooding.

  Another bubble popped out of the sand below his feet and face-planted on the bottom of the tube. It scurried to the side and slipped out to rise to freedom. More bubbles. There were so many, Kai’s head spun. He sat down quick before he fell over. The water churned all around and his heart pounded.

  Water droplets on his skin. Was it raining? A sudden torrent drenched him and he shot to his feet in shock at the cold. Something solid smashed down on top of him and pain spasmed through his back.

  Whatever it was, it had arms and legs and was screaming loud enough to curdle his blood.

  ~*~

  A ring of teeth gnashed further down the worm’s throat, slicing inwards with the sound of a thousand swords. The teeth moved as the worm did, in and out as the body constricted and stretched.

  Evazee grabbed for a handhold, but the inside of the thing’s mouth was a smooth, slippery wall. The worm constricted, and the teeth pulled close together, blocking off the throat. It raised up and bucked, depositing Evazee onto the meshed teeth.

  Her mind spun. This could not be happening. She imagined getting to Heaven. Welcome! How did you die? Well, I was eaten by a giant freaky worm. And you?

  The worm bucked hard. A torrent of swampy water gushed from the worm’s belly with a force that toppled Evazee head over heels. Fresh air washed over her and she fell. Panic flashed through her, and she grabbed for something—anything—to hold onto. But her fingers closed on nothing but wet air. She fell.

  A scream built in her belly, and she came down hard, slamming into something solid that buckled at the impact. A torrential dump of water crashed down, and Evazee gasped for breath.

  Whatever she’d landed on pushed her off, and she rolled on the floor, coming to a stop against a wall made of jelly. She watched the worm move away. Then she breathed.

  “Evazee, is that really you?”

  She pushed back her soggy hair, and there was Kai, as drenched as she was, his eyes wide with a touch of panic. No, there was something more. Something dark.

  “What is that thing? It’s hideous.”

  Evazee did a quick body check. Everything hurt, nothing seemed broken. “That blasted worm nearly ate me.” All at once, she wanted to scream, punch something, and sob her heart out. They were at the bottom of a deep jelly tube with see-through walls, somewhere in the swamps of Benan.

  “Hey, come here.” Kai crawled over to her and pulled her to his chest. It was an awkward angle, and her arm poked him in the ribs, but she needed arms after slimy worm insides. Kai seemed to be at a loss for words, and she didn’t blame him. They were both shivering from cold after their unintentional shower.

  Kai pushed her away, holding onto her arms as if she might run away if he didn’t. “How did you get here? Why? And that worm?”

  “Testing arch. The priests sent me to look for their boys. Kai, we have to get back. They are going to...” She couldn’t say it. “They’ve got Runt, Peta, Paintbrush...the little ones who are too small to fight back.” Panic knotted her throat. Breathing was hard.

  “I’ve been trying to get out, haven’t quite nailed it just yet. What is that worm-thing? Do you think it’s coming back?”

  Evazee shivered and crossed her arms. “Mutated from living in poisonous, mushroom infused water. Zulu told me. My best guess is that it’s dumped us here to rot. A tastier snack than fresh, I suppose. How do we get out before it comes back?”

  “Well, that’s a tricky thing. There is a way, but it probably means falling to our deaths.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Look. Let me show you.” Kai kicked three drawers, and they popped open, quivering. “One can climb out on those, but they go so high, a fall would break bones.”

  Evazee prodded the squooshy drawer with a reluctant finger. It wobbled at her touch. “Other than looking too bendy, I don’t see what the problem is.” The drawers snapped shut with a shlurp. “Oh, I see.”

  “There’s something else too. Each drawer holds an amulet like Runt’s. I feel like we should take them out. Look here.” He fiddled in his pocket and pulled out a
charm. “I think this might be Zulu’s.”

  Evazee took the heavy object from Kai and turned it over, feeling the jagged groove that slashed through the surface. “This is his scar. No doubt.”

  “The only problem is, taking them out could literally kill us.” Kai leaned back on the jelly wall, scratching his chin.

  “Not if we work together and time it right.”

  “Aaah, Zee. Ever the optimist. We would die. Honestly. Even with this jelly goo, a fall from that high would do bad things.”

  Evazee felt warmth from her amulet against her skin. “Kai, we have to do this. I’m pretty sure these amulets belong to Zulu’s boys. Imagine being able to hand them their freedom? We could take away the hold that the priests have over them. It’s all right here at our fingertips.”

  “Or we could die trying. That would be fun too.” Sarcasm laced his words like arsenic.

  Evazee frowned at Kai. He didn’t sound normal at all. “Listen, Boy, when did you get so sour?” She reached over and pulled his eyelid up. There was a greenish tinge to the whites of his eyes. “What did you do?”

  He pulled away from her hand. “Zee, this whole thing is worse than you could ever imagine. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. They are lacing everything with dark Affinity serum. Everything. Even toilet paper. We don’t stand a chance. There is no way to stop this.”

  “So I’m assuming you picked up green eyeballs from seeing all this toxic stuff.”

  “It gets worse. This latest batch of serum? It doesn’t wear off. It’s designed to be permanent. Once it’s in you, that’s it. Forever.”

  Evazee heard Kai, but his words wouldn’t settle in her head. “I don’t know about that. Surely there must be a way? Anyway. What is going on with your eyes?”

  He slipped his hand into his pocket. Evazee could see him fiddling with something. What was he about to show her? But he kept his hand tucked away and shrugged. “Trick of the light, I suppose. I’m glad you’re here.”