The Spindle

by J. Darlene Everly

  Zellendine

  She stumbled into their quarters, Rullon right beside her and just as unsteady.

  They both collapsed onto their bunks, neither of them saying a word.

  With only so much time before she was to be sent off to the planet, she knew she should be trying to put her plan into place, but she could barely move at the moment.

  It might have been an hour, or a few hours later, her tears finally ran dry.

  Not long after that, Rullon asked from his bunk, “Do you want me to make something from the service?”

  “Yes, thank you,” she said, staring at the wall at the back of the bunk.

  “Zellendine…”

  The hesitation in Rullon’s voice made her roll over and sit up to look at him.

  “I want you to know, that if this doesn’t work—”

  “It’s going to work,” she cut him off. She didn’t want to even begin to accept the other possibility. There was only one way she wanted to spend her life, with Troylus. Anything else wasn’t worth imagining.

  “Okay. Well, I just want you to know that no matter what, you will have us. I’m going to let Indigo know, so that after I’m gone, you’ll always have this family as your own.” His face was set, but his eyes were soft as he stood next to the service, paying no attention to the food he was preparing.

  All she could do was bite her lip and nod.

  He smiled, a small smile that managed to tell her he was happy she accepted and that he would always feel the hole left by Troylus as much as she would if they were going to be in that empty situation for any reason.

  It wasn’t until he turned and got back to his task that she got her voice under control enough to say, “Thank you.”

  The night before the spindles were scheduled to launch, during one of the busiest times in the halls, she tucked herself along a wall, hidden by the people walking by. She watched, even though she couldn’t hear anything, while Rullon approached the two people posted at the door to the gathering room.

  His hands waved in the air, those passing near him squeezed further into the others in the crowd, giving him as wide a berth as they could.

  One of the men at the door stuck out a hand like he was trying to usher Rullon away.

  But Rullon smacked the extended arm down.

  The other man went to step in, then Indigo got involved, emerging from the crowd.

  Zellendine remained in place until Rullon and Indigo drew the men away from the door, gesturing wildly, their faces red and livid while they continued to yell.

  She darted along the wall while the crowd was distracted and slipped into the gathering room.

  It took seconds to sprint across the room and fling open the door to the closet, it was still unnerving to see just a section of Troylus’s torso and the top of his legs.

  “Come on,” she said, “Time to go.”

  He climbed out better this time than last, he was at least awake and expecting her, but she was bouncing out of her skin by the time he managed to get out of the closet and grab her hand.

  They didn’t have the time for a proper hello, but she gave him a quick kiss and ran with him to the door.

  Opening it a crack, she peeked out, and the people in the hall were still distracted by something she couldn’t see off to one side, although she knew it was Rullon and Indigo giving the men hell.

  She pulled him along behind her, back into the crowd along the wall just the way she came, but she took the first corner into a different hall.

  The second he was around it behind her, he tugged her back into him and wrapped her in his arms for a too swift hug while he whispered, “I love you,” in her ear.

  “I love you too, now move your ass,” she said, weaving into the people with him, hoping they would blend as well as she planned for when she came up with her untethered idea.

  Making their way to the spindles and hiding him onboard was the only chance they had, and she just had to make it work, they just had to get there without being spotted.

  Through the halls they went, no one even looked at them.

  She wondered if he was going to get too tired and start slowing after so long not using his legs enough, but they were going fine. And they weren’t pushing their speed so much they would stand out. Maybe their path to the spindles was going to be okay. Maybe her plan was going to work.

  But making another turn, getting even closer to their goal, she almost ran right into one of the only people onboard who was for sure going to notice them.

  He jumped back from her, shoving her backward into Troylus, who caught her before she could tumble to the floor.

  Briar stared at her, his lip curled in a snarl.

  “Sorry,” she said, stepping to the side, and attempting to pull Troylus along with her.

  “No. But you’re going to be,” Briar said, shoving her as she tried to get past him, sending her careening into the crowd.

  “What the fuck, Briar?” Troylus yelled, earning him a shove in the other direction.

  All she could do was try and get Briar to focus back on her before it registered with him that Troylus was there. Only then could she worry about getting them past him before it got any more likely they would be caught.

  She made eye contact with Troylus who was bracing himself like he was about to kick Briar’s ass, and she shook her head.

  The crowd started to clear, squeezing together to give them space for whatever disaster was about to happen.

  “Briar, come on, I’ll go away and you can go the way you were heading. You have to be going somewhere,” Zellendine said, trying to get away from him and being herded further away from Troylus in the process.

  She cursed herself when she realized she had managed to get backed up against a wall with no one around her and Briar was between her and Troylus.

  “Fuck you.” Briar’s voice was loud and guttural, like he went from zero to ready to rip her head off in half a second.

  ‘No, thanks, not from you,’ was what she wanted to say, but she had to clench her teeth together and remind herself she couldn’t afford the mistake of making any of it worse.

  “Just let me go on my way,” she said and he snarled.

  “Why? So you and the escapee can go ruin something else?” he asked.

  She shot a panicked glance at Troylus and focused back on Briar.

  “Oh, you thought I didn’t know? Who do you think turned him in?” He wasn’t even quiet about the confession. He was loud and proud about being a horrible human being to someone who used to be his friend.

  There was no more biting her tongue, she knew, the only option was confrontation and running.

  “You fucking murderous piece of shit. He’s better than you in every way and the day I figured it out is the best one of my life,” she said, wishing she had an ability so she could hit him with it.

  He screamed and ran at her, punching her in the stomach and doubling her over.

  Troylus pulled him off before he could get in another blow, they twisted and punched until they threw each other with enough force that they separated. They still ended up close to their original position.

  “Leave her alone, Briar,” Troylus said, wiping a split lip.

  Briar was bleeding from a cut to his eyebrow, but he didn’t even seem to notice, he turned back to Zellendine with hate in his eyes.

  “Did you see that? You did that?” Briar yelled, pointing at Troylus.

  “You’re the one who destroyed your friendship with him, just like you’re the one who killed my dad.”

  44

  Troylus

  “Briar,” Troylus screamed, terror and horror flooding through him as Briar sent a ball of flame flying at Zellendine’s head.

  At the last second, she darted just out of the way, her hair getting singed on the ends in the process. She rolled along the ground and it seemed to put it out.

  But his scream drew a derisive sneer and flame filled look from Briar.

  “Stop this.” Troylu
s braced his feet and lifted his hands, if Briar attacked him, he wasn’t going to pretend he was defenseless.

  “Oh, I’ve been wondering,” Briar said, his voice a mockery of glee. “What can you do?”

  “More than you fucking think. Leave her alone.” Troylus wanted to just punch him like he would have back before Briar switched shifts and both their eyes changed colors.

  “You know, I don’t really believe you. I mean, you’re a starwalker. It’s the job for the useless and everyone knows it. The most likely to die, the least valuable.” Briar formed another ball of flame and threw it at Zellendine, she ducked and it whizzed over her head to land among the crowd that scattered as it neared them.

  “The most important,” Zellendine said while Troylus cursed her in his head. She should have just stayed out of it. He could keep Briar distracted. “Because otherwise the ship would have broken a long time ago. You know that. You’re just an asshole looking for a way to hurt someone.”

  “Zellendine,” Briar said, tsking. “Now that’s not nice.”

  “What’s not nice is attacking me, and what’s down right evil, is killing my dad.”

  If Troylus had not been paying attention to the smallest flicker of movement from Briar, he would have missed the tiny flinch and the way his eyes darted to the side away from her before returning full of even more hate.

  “Fuck. You did kill him.” Troylus dropped his hands to his sides, his mouth falling open.

  “Both of you are too fucking stupid. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “Amazing.” Troylus lifted his hands again, his sadness over what Briar had become burning away and being replaced by white hot rage. “You really think you did the right thing.”

  “No. Briar, how… how could you think that?” Zellendine’s voice was low and hollow as she slumped to the ground and stared at Briar, opening herself for attack.

  What the hell was she doing? Get up, Troylus shouted in his head, afraid that if he drew any more attention to her position it would make Briar more likely to throw fire at her, not less.

  “Of course I did the right thing,” he yelled, throwing his hands in the air and laughing, the fire ball popping out of existence. “Does everyone hear this? She thinks her traitor father deserved to live.”

  “My dad was a member of leadership, not a damn traitor you zealot.” She sat up straighter, drawing Briar’s hateful attention again.

  “Then what was he doing sneaking around, Zellendine?” Briar’s arms erupted into flames, the fire licking all the way up to his shoulders, but not burning his uniform.

  How it did that, Troylus had no idea, but he didn’t drop his hands, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to.

  If she was going to make herself a target, offer herself up as the object of Briar’s rage, then his hands and his ability was his best chance to stop her from dying in front of him.

  “Sneaking around?” She was screaming now, her own anger seemed like it was winning against whatever plan she was trying for. “That’s your evidence that he had to die?”

  “You don’t know.” Briar’s voice cracked and his fire grew, his uniform beginning to smoke, threads of it floating up and turning into flaming wicks in the air.

  “Neither do you,” Zellendine said, her voice had gone from as hot as Briar’s fire to as cold as space. “You killed him for an assumption only cooked up by your irrational hate and anger.” She stood as tall as she could stretch, her whole body almost vibrating with the force of her own fury.

  “What were you going to do, just let Troylus take the fall for you?” She wouldn’t stop, she leaned forward and took a step even closer to Briar, closer to the danger.

  No, fucking stop, what are you thinking, he wanted to scream at her, but he thought it would only make things worse. He shook his head, trying to get her attention and make her back away.

  “Troylus is probably guilty too.” Briar’s voice shook, but it didn’t make him sound scared, it made him sound like he was about to lose control of his emotions, and his power, completely.

  “Briar.” She didn’t lose any of the steel and ice in her voice, but now it was laced with an insidious and almost more toxic level of pity. “You need to get help from one of the medics. This isn’t good for you.”

  “You are a sanctimonious piece of shit. We will never be friends. You were just using me.” His fire had engulfed his entire upper body, his head was barely visible through the flames.

  “Using you?” She looked past him, making eye contact with Troylus, holding position with her hands at her sides and her nose in the air, her back straight and tall.

  He prepared himself for whatever was going to happen next.

  “For what?” She asked, each word carefully articulated, and Briar reared back, a massive fireball forming in his hand.

  Time slowed for Troylus, just like it had when he remade the window and when the accident happened. The only thing in the world he was fully aware of was the specific situation in front of him and how he was going to manage to make his ability save everyone, not just Zellendine this time.

  Briar twitched, and that was enough. His fireball flew from him toward Zellendine, and the crowd just behind her.

  She shut her eyes, the people behind her only had a second to start to move.

  His hands flung out and pulled.

  The walls, floor, and ceiling peeled. Parts of each tore off and wrapped around Briar and scooped in most of his fireball, enclosing it in with him in a metal and wood mass, centered around a screaming Briar.

  Zellendine lifted an arm and flinched away. The remainder of the fireball slammed into her upraised arm and set her alight.

  45

  Zellendine

  She screamed and rolled on the ground, the inferno smothered against her own body, which she knew would put it out, but it didn’t lessen the pain. She was pretty sure it made it worse, like it was driving the fire deeper into her.

  By the time she got the flames out and was sitting on the floor, holding an undamaged part of her wrist and whimpering, Troylus skidded to her side.

  “Oh, Zellendine,” he said, kissing her forehead and holding his hands over her arm, he shut his eyes and his blue light poured out of him, wrapping around her wounds.

  It made her arch her back and grind her teeth so she didn’t scream. She managed that, but there was no keeping the groan in, even though she knew it was going to hurt.

  The pain ricocheted up and down her arm and spread into her whole body.

  Troylus let go of the light, stopping it and the sensation of tearing that was ripping through her in a second.

  He looked at her with a smile and toppled over.

  “No, Troylus,” she yelled, picking him up off the floor and putting his head in her lap.

  “It’s okay. Just drained,” he mumbled, so low she had to lean down to hear him, and then his eyes were shut and he was out.

  “Shit,” she said. There was no way she was going to be able to get him to a spindle before someone came along.

  Her arm wasn’t completely healed, and what was better was still bright pink. Her uniform was shredded and burned most of the way up to her shoulder, allowing the patchwork skin of her arm to be visible to the entire crowd in the hall that were circling her and Troylus, and the collection of random ship parts that contained a screaming Briar.

  “Will he throw fire at me too?” A young girl asked her dad, pointing to the pile of crap.

  “No,” Zellendine said, from her place on the floor, the girl and her dad turning to look at her, other people around doing the same. “He can’t get his ability through all of that stuff that Troylus surrounded him with.”

  Several people let out large breaths, their shoulders relaxing, and the girl kicked a foot out at a piece of wood sticking out of the bottom.

  “Killer. You should stay in there,” she said, and Zellendine had rarely agreed with anyone more.

  “What in the universe?” Alara said, picking her way through th
e torn up floor and eyeing the mound of stuff while Briar screamed from inside.

  “That guy,” the young girl said, pointing at the wailing mass, Briar’s words were distorted and warped so by the time they came out they were just unintelligible noise, “is bad.”

  A smile tugged at the corners of Alara’s mouth as the young girl spoke.

  “He killed that girl’s dad, he said so. And he wouldn’t even say sorry.” Alara snapped her gaze to Zellendine on the floor with Troylus in her lap, and Zellendine was surprised to see no shock on Alara’s face, just more assessment.

  “Then,” the little girl went on, her voice heavy with meaning on then, “He threw fire at her, twice. Once it hit her and burned her arm.”

  Alara made her way to Zellendine’s side, looking closely at the patchy skin of her arm and the burnt up edge of the shortened sleeve of her uniform.

  “That guy,” the girl pointed at Troylus, “Closed the bad guy up with stuff, and healed her arm, although it looked like it hurt, then he died.”

  “Died?” Alara asked, looking up at them both before she leaned closer to Troylus.

  “He’s not dead,” Zellendine said, smiling at the girl and her very succinct summary, “He did too much with his ability and he passed out from exhaustion.”

  The girl smiled and tugged on her dad’s arm, pulling him away from the scene.

  “Ability?” Alara asked, her voice hushed when the girl was gone.

  “Silver-eyed people, which there are more of everyday, are developing abilities. The accident that happened?”

  Zellendine didn’t want to say it, she was worried how the people with silver eyes would be treated if all of leadership deemed them dangerous, but she had to warn people now that the basics were out in the open.

  Alara sighed and closed her eyes for a second before she shook her head.

  “How did we not know about this?” she asked.

  “The same way you didn’t know that Briar killed my dad.” Alara raised her eyebrows and Zellendine had to deliberately temper the anger in her voice. “You didn’t want to know. We didn’t understand what was happening to Troylus, but we knew you would think of it as a threat no matter that all he does is fix things.”