by Bryant Reil
She couldn’t keep herself from squealing. Her mind envisioned herself tumbling into the magma below, when the metal door opened, and a hand shot down and grabbed her wrist. A soft, smooth hand. An elf’s hand. She spread her legs against the sides and pushed again. This time a second hand grabbed the back of her dress and pulled her through the hole.
She lay on her back and spat the purse strap out of her mouth. A familiar face looked down.
“Marik?” She coughed.
He extended a hand, and when she took it, he pulled her to her feet.
“Well,” he said, laughing. “Don’t you turn up in the most interesting places?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “You, too.”
***
Saul doubted Kyla would find a rope in time, but kept his eyes fixed on the hole through which Kyla had disappeared.
Zen pulled on his arm. “We have to get out of here.”
Two voices approached, speaking in a language Saul recognized as Lili’s native tongue. Their armor clanked against the stone floor.
“Kyla!” he hissed up the pipe. “Kyla! The rope!”
There was no time. He turned to Zen and nodded. “Let’s go. We’ll find another way out.”
Saul’s heart pounded as they rushed beyond the garbage chutes. He was worried about Kyla, of course, but Lili even more so. Her commander knew of her connection to Saul: would she be a suspect in his escape? If he turned himself in, they wouldn’t have any reason to go after her. That would leave Zen by himself, but the elf would probably fare better alone. Saul stopped.
“I’m staying.”
Zen turned, his face contorted. “What?”
“Lili’s going to get in trouble if I escape.”
“You’d rather be tortured to death?”
“Better me than her.”
“We met her on the street. She told us where to find you, and to get you out of here. What if they can read minds? Torture us for information? If we get caught, so does she. Best thing is to get out of here. We can make a plan to track her down once we’re safe.
Saul pursed his lips. Even if Saul could withstand torture, he couldn’t stop a mind reader. Finding Lili in this hostile city would be difficult, but what else was he to do?
“Fine,” he agreed. “Hurry.”
They rushed forward, and though the ledge was wide here, there were no branching corridors, and nowhere to hide. The guards would catch up to them sooner or later. And then it ended. The corridor expanded to reveal a high fall of magma, so high Saul couldn’t see the top. It splashed into a large pool, the source of the magma channels. Molten rock splattered onto the sides of the cavern.
“Behind the falls,” Zen pointed. “Nowhere else to go.”
Saul scanned the room for a way to climb, but there was a steep overhang above, and the rocks were sweating. So was Saul. A small fleck of magma splattered onto his left arm. He sucked air in through his teeth, ready to panic before realizing the molten speck wasn’t as hot as he’d expected, and more solid. It cooled quickly, once exposed to the air.
“Here,” Zen waved. The elf was standing with his back to the rock face, inching his way behind the cascading flow of molten rock. If they were found, there was nowhere to escape but into the soup. It would be a quick death, at least.
Saul decided to try the ledge with his face against the rock, as he preferred not to watch the glowing cascade that threatened to melt his skin off. His sure-footed hooves were better suited for the ledge than Zen’s awkward feet, and soon Saul was pressing up against the elf, trying to hurry him without nudging him off the rock face.
They were now perched halfway up the face of a cliff, hidden behind a tower of flowing magma, at the end of a one-way tunnel and pursued by guards who would, most likely, torture them to death on capture.
He somewhat regretted his escape from the prison, as starvation seemed so much more straightforward.
“Alright, brain,” he muttered. “Let’s see how you get me out of this one.”
***
Aethelwyne tried to look as stoic as possible as High Seer Imel hobbled into the room, though of course she knew he knew what she had done.
“You sent for me?” he rasped. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed and thrown a sheet over his head for clothing.
“The Queen has vanished. We suspect foul play.”
“And I assume you have notified the King?”
“Don’t be a fool. Would I be here talking to you if I could find him?”
He was playing the dullard, but it was making Aethelwyne question how much he really knew.
Aethelwyne gestured at a chair and picked at her fingernails as he ambled over to it and sat with a hacking exhalation.
Once he was settled, he cleared his throat. “I suppose you want to know if I have any ideas what may have happened to them.”
“Do you?”
Imel rocked back and forth in his chair. “You know I only see shadows of the paths into the future.”
“A shadow is a pretty good indication of what casts it, yes? But I don’t need you for this investigation. There are others better suited. I simply want to know if you’ve reconsidered your loyalty. It was your vision of me, after all.”
“I don’t recall a vision of you, Lady.”
Aethelwyne stood straight. “Don’t play with me. You know the one I mean.”
Imel’s knuckles whitened as he tightened his grip on the knob at the end of his walking-stick.
“I see a young woman wreathed in flame,” he said, “sitting on the throne, and establishing a new and stronger World of Order.”
Aethelwyne ignited a halo of flame around her person. “Clearly me, you old coot. That’s why I was selected as heir.”
Imel offered a chuckle buried in a disgusting gurgle of phlegm. “Is that why we chose you?”
“Why else? Anyway, it doesn’t matter because I’m next in line, and you answer to me until you retire. And there has been no word of a formal resignation. Believe me, I’ve checked.”
“What do you want?” he snapped. Imel’s voice bordered on insubordination.
She walked to the chair next to him, turned it to face him, and sat with her legs crossed.
She leaned forward, flames licking from her hair toward the High Seer, who pushed his chair back.
Aethelwyne scooted forward. “I have it on good authority that you aren’t telling me everything.”
“I am old. Perhaps I have forgotten to mention a thing or two. You will have to forgive me that, Lady.”
“Where is King Oberon?”
“You don’t know?”
Flames burst out from her body. “Of course I don’t know. Why would I know? Just tell me, is he dead or alive?”
Imel clicked his tongue. “Oh, let’s see. Now, when did I see him last? Oh, you know, perhaps some tea would jog my memory.”
Aethelwyne pressed her nails into her clenched palms to prevent herself from blasting him with flame. “Just tell me.”
“Very well,” Imel nodded. “You might as well know. The King has perished, and your time to claim the throne has arrived. You might as well get it over with.”
“What?”
“Killing me.”
Aethelwyne had to confess some surprise. “You just said you support me for the Throne. Why would I kill you?”
“Support you?” Imel spat. “You are a vile, wicked, treacherous woman who murdered your own Queen. You will rule in blood and terror. You think I want you as Queen of Order?”
“What? I will save billions of lives! You’ve admitted it. You’ve placed me here. What kind of game is this?”
“I’ve searched for years to find another way, but only putting you on the throne ends in our survival. It does not mean it is you who will save the World of Order, nor will I support the horrific acts you are bound to enact as Queen. I would fight you to my grave, should you let me live, and had I the strength.”
“Traitor!” Aethelwyne shrieked and igni
ted both her hands. “How dare you. I am your Queen! A young woman wreathed in flame!”
An inferno burned about her body, and Imel shielded his face from the heat with his arm.
“I suppose you are asking for a quick death?” she screamed. “Instead of the slow descent into madness your mind is taking you?”
Was he suicidal? He didn’t look frightened, and no longer moved back from her flames.
“Answer me! What happened to the King? Why would you betray you Kingdom? Why support me for the throne and then insult me?”
He wiped his brow with his robe but didn’t respond.
“Well, if you hoped for a quick death you stoked the wrong fire. Let’s start with the feet and see how long we can make this last.”
Imel remained stoic as long as he could, but when he finally broke down and screamed, Aethelwyne couldn’t stop smiling.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chance Encounters
Kyla crossed her arms over her bosom. “Why do you keep looking at my chest?”
Marik blushed. “I’m looking at your necklace. Where did you get it?”
Kyla pinched the black stone pendant between her thumb and forefinger and held it up. “Part of my outfit for Aura’s wedding.”
Marik reached for it, but she pulled it away.
“I just want to see it,” he insisted. “Take it off.”
“Why?”
Marik smiled, though it seemed forced. He was usually smoother, and softer in demeanor. Aspen had never trusted him, she recalled.
Marik reached into his own shirt and pulled out a pendant of his own. A small black stone hung on the end of a thin chain. Unlike Kyla’s, his was rough and unpolished.
“Oh. Same stone. Neat.”
“You getting Sophrosyne off your back, too?”
“Oh! Right. Your stone – it blocks her mind-reading, too? We must be driving her nuts.”
Marik leaned forward. “Yes. I suppose we are. Only yours seems to have left a burn around your neck.”
“Oh?” Kyla felt along her neck. It hurt a little when she touched it. “Probably from when I was hit by lightning.”
She pointed at her side, and Marik’s eyes went wide as he noticed the gaping hole and raw burn.
“Well, haven’t you been through something else.”
His eyes wandered back to her necklace, and Kyla stepped back. “Do you have a rope? I need to lower one down for Saul and Zen.”
“Who?”
“You know Saul. The satyr. Zen’s an elf who just started working for Sophrosyne.”
Marik’s lip twitched. “Replaced me already, has she? And no, I don’t have a rope. But come with me. I may be able to help more than you know.”
***
“I’m slipping,” Saul muttered. At first, he worried he may have spoken too loudly, but he could barely hear himself over the torrent of magma falling behind him. A stray drop sizzled as it landed between his hooves, and he gritted his teeth, hoping none would meet his skin.
Zen leaned over to whisper his reply. He, at least, seemed comfortable with his grip, though his eyes looked nervous as he stood to face the falling magma. “Sh! They’re coming. Doubt they’ll stay long. Hold on.”
Saul held his breath and focused on his fingers. His left hand began to slide, and for a half-second he let go. His nails tore against the stone as he scratched at the cliff face to regain his grip. His left leg slipped from its perch and swung toward the falls, and before he could pull it back, a glob of magma oozed over his hoof. He tried to shake it free, but as he did his middle fingernail cracked and he let go.
He closed his eyes as he began to fall. He imagined himself diving into the clear falls in the spring back home. A beautiful glen, the scent of flowers, the songs of birds. He’d never have left, were it not for louts with whom he’d had to share it so many years. Now he wanted to die in the memory of home.
Something yanked him by the horn and hurled him to the ground.
“There’s another one back there!” shouted a familiar voice. “I’ve got this one.”
Saul opened his eyes. His heart was thumping painfully, mostly from fear. Red hands patted a cloth over his right hoof. As it lifted he could see that his leg now ended in a blackened stump. On seeing it the pain struck, and he grabbed his thigh in both hands and grunted.
“Are you okay?” whispered his assailant. He looked at her, but she turned away too quickly for him see her face. Still, he knew Lili’s voice.
He refrained from saying her name, lest he betray that he knew her to the other guard. The other was a tall demon, now reaching for Zen, who was inching away, farther behind the falls.
“Keep me steady,” the demon commanded. Lili nodded and grabbed him by the belt as he worked his way along the ledge toward Zen.
Zen looked down, and for a moment Saul thought he was going to jump.
“Don’t jump!” Saul screamed. “Don’t do it. Trust me. Not worth it.”
The demon turned his head to face Saul. He pulled his hand away from Lili and found a grip on the rock face. “Keep the satyr quiet. I’ve got the elf.”
Lili nodded. Her head turned back to Saul, expressionless. She reached out, took a deep breath, and with a swift swing of her arm she grabbed the demon by a horn and threw him back into the magma. Saul sat up, momentarily forgetting the pain in his leg. The demon screamed as he fell but was suddenly silenced. Lili, panting heavily, extended a hand toward Zen. He hesitated to take it, his eyes wandering back to the magma falls, and down to where the other demon had fallen.
“It’s okay,” Saul called out through pained breaths. “She won’t hurt you.”
“Shut up,” Lili ordered. “You’re distracting me. You, elf, grab my hand. Nowhere else to go but down.”
Zen inched his way toward Lili, and as soon as he was in reach he lurched forward into her waiting arms.
Lili settled the gasping Zen onto the ground and knelt next to Saul and caressed his face. “Lucky I found you.”
“Yes. Oh, you had me terrified. Kyla was with us. She went up the garbage chute to the palace.”
Lili shook her head. “I told the idiot to get out of town. Where’s the other elf? The gray one? I guess the Breakers must have got him.”
“Glowing red orbs? Yeah. Is anyone else coming?”
“They will if I don’t report back soon. I’ll have to tell them Gava fell in, and hope they buy it. They’re already suspicious since I came with you, and now you’ve escaped. I promised my Captain I’d bring you back.”
“What’ll happen to you?”
Lili’s eyes were filling with water. “I hope for the best. If they decide I’ve helped you, I’ll be killed.”
Saul forced himself to sit up and put his arms around Lili’s neck. “Come with us. Help us find our way out of here. Get what’s-his-name here—”
“Zen.”
“Get Zen here back home. And me. Let’s not forget that a world without me is gonna suck for everyone else.”
Lili kissed him on the forehead. “It is. But I have to stay. If I stay, I may be punished, but if I desert, they punish my family.”
“Right.” Saul sat quietly as Lili cradled him, allowing a minute to enjoy her warmth before he gently pushed her away.
“You’d better go. Lucky you were the one to find us, huh?”
Lili intertwined her fingers with his. “Not luck. I knew you’d escape, so I was already nearby. I just followed the smell of goat.”
Zen crept forward on his knees. “We need to get up the garbage chute. Is the way clear?”
Lili gave Saul a peck on the cheek. “Doubt you’ll get out of the palace. Wards and alarms everywhere. I’ll keep an ear open for Kyla, but to be honest, if she’s in the palace she’ll be caught. And I doubt they’ll bother to lock her up.”
Saul struggled onto his good leg, supporting himself on Lili’s shoulder. “We can’t abandon her.”
“Can and must. I’m endangering my family as it is. I know
a quick way out of the city. I’ve gotta report back, but if you have something to write with, I’ll draw you a map. Will you be able to walk?”
Saul lowered some pressure on his bad leg. A jolt of pain shot up into his lower back, and he wobbled and clenched his teeth. Lili kept him from falling.
“Nah. I’m done. No way I’m getting out of here. Give the map to Zen.”
Lili bit her lip. “I’ll escort you to the tunnel entrance.”
“Don’t risk it. Get Zen out of here. Maybe I can find a way to rescue Kyla.”
“I’ll work on finding Kyla. I promise. You’re going.”
“I’m not—”
Lili leaned in and kissed him. She had kissed him before, but he had never tasted such a mix of passion, and desperation, and longing, and sadness.
She did not expect to see him again.
She grabbed him under the armpit and draped his arm over her shoulder for support.
“I have no reason to go back,” he sobbed. He had never cried before. He had never understood pain like this before. “Please leave me here.”
Lili squeezed him. “Would you leave me to die?’
“Of course not.”
“Then how dare you ask me to do it to you?”
***
There were lit torches along each side of the corridor, held aloft by skeletal arms adorned in brass armor and golden rings on each middle finger. A brass sconce circled each shoulder where it socketed into the wall, and creepy as it was, Kyla thought the design rather clever.
“Hurry,” Marik warned. She trotted to catch up with him. “You don’t want to get caught here without me.”
“I already know that. Why do you think I was crawling up a garbage chute? What are you doing here, anyway?”
“Official business.” Marik pulled a scrolled-up parchment from his coat. Kyla recognized the royal seal.
“Oh! You work for the Queen, now?” Kyla wanted to tell him that she wished to see the Queen to tell her about Sophrosyne. After all, Marik could back her up. But something was…well, she couldn’t put her finger on it. He was off.