Cities of the Forgotten

by Rayne W Grath

  Aarik caught the sweats awkwardly as he struggled to hold onto Kiya’s sweatshirt at the same time. She must have noticed his duress because she grabbed the garment before it plummeted to the ground and held it out like a shield while Taylor helped him get dressed. As soon as they finished, she crumpled up her shirt and tossed it over her shoulder with a smile on her face. She held out her hand and held it there as she waited for him to move. Hobbling toward her with Taylor’s assistance, he panicked when her smile dissolved and was replaced with fear. Refusing to give up, Aarik pulled Kiya into the crook of his arm and held on as he turned to face Th’ael, knowing if he failed this time, there was more at stake than just his life. If he lost, the whole world would suffer from his failure.

  “Impressive. The majority of men wouldn’t have been able to make such a quick recovery. I believe the record was an hour among my troops, most took several before they recovered. It’s a pity you’ve chosen to align yourself with the wrong side; I could have used someone with your growing capabilities. Now tell me where the crystal is, Thrall, and I’ll consider sparing his life,” Th’ael said with flare from across the room.

  “What makes you think threatening our lives will guarantee our cooperation?” countered Aarik, as he took deep breaths to center his focus on the upcoming battle, hoping he had enough left in the tank to make a quick escape with all of his friends.

  “I grow tired of these games. I’ll take them by force if necessary,” warned Th’ael, before he said with his commanding voice, “Come to me. NOW!”

  “Them? I don’t think so,” replied Aarik, as he silently said the chant to protect his friends from Th’ael’s enchantment and repeated the spell Th’ael had used the night Luke was murdered, freezing the people in the room except for those around him. Knowing they wouldn’t have much time, Aarik used the last of his energy to say, “We don’t have much time, let’s get out of here.”

  “What about the terracraft?” Taylor asked, supporting Aarik from the other side, and taking the majority of the weight from Kiya, as they headed toward the tunnel in an awkward fashion.

  “We’ll have to come back for it,” said Aarik on a whisper, before he added telepathically, If it’s still there. Sadly I don’t have much left in the tank, my friend. Need to stay awake to keep the spell going as long as possible if we want more than half a chance of getting out of here alive, and my sad excuse of attempting to walk is only slowing us down. Hate to inconvenience you, but would you mind lightening my load?

  Not an inconvenience and you shouldn’t have had to ask. I just thought you wanted to keep Kiya close since it seems she got over being mad at you. Lucky bastard.

  “The tunnel isn’t large enough for the three of us. Let me carry him, it will be faster,” offered Taylor, as he pulled Aarik onto his back with a grunt and headed into the tunnel after Anna. “Damn, dude, you weigh a ton. Next time you can carry me.”

  “Hopefully there won’t be a next time, but if I’m capable, I’ll carry you.”

  “Not that I’m complaining about the view, but could you pick it up a notch up there? I’m feeling a bit exposed back here,” said Kiya nervously from behind.

  “Shit. Kiya. I wasn’t thinking, should have had you go first like a real gentleman,” Taylor bit out, straining to talk, breathe, and keep moving, before he said, “Squeeze by me. I don’t think I can go much faster with this big lug of a guy on my back.”

  “We’re almost out. I’ll just keep a hand on you until we’re free,” replied Kiya, as she crept closer for reassurance.

  “Dammit. I’m not superman,” grumbled Taylor, picking up his speed slightly as he labored for breath.

  “Don’t kill yourself on my account,” Kiya said with a laugh, before she added, “Look, there’s the entrance. Head to the right and you’ll run right into our stolen helicopter.”

  “I don’t see anything,” Taylor bit out in frustration as they passed through the vines covering the hidden entrance.

  “It’s camouflaged. Just follow me,” said Anna over her shoulder, as she ran on her toes, in her heels, toward an empty field.

  Aarik cheered silently when the helicopter doors slid open, revealing an older woman he could only assume was Kiya’s grandmother. Her presence indicated they were moments away from escaping, which couldn’t come fast enough according to Aarik. He felt depleted of energy, but filled with hope as he hung onto Taylor’s back. Lifting his head up, he glanced back at Kiya and his heart stopped. Th’ael had a silent, but screaming Kiya in his grasp as he backed away leisurely, smiling in triumph.

  Using the last of his strength, Aarik dropped to the ground and opened his mouth to freeze Th’ael and his men once again, but instead heard him say telepathically, Not this time. The chant on the edge of his tongue died out when Th’ael beat him to the punch, using the same spell against him, immobilizing Aarik and his companions just long enough to fade out of sight, taking the woman of his dreams along with him.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  KIYA

  “I can’t wait to make you pay for disobeying me because, as you’ll soon find out, I’m a man of my word, Thrall,” Th’ael sneered in a low voice from behind, as he pulled Kiya into his arms, locking her into place with ease. He backed away from Aarik slowly, trying to sneak away without confrontation.

  Not wanting to go down without a fight, Kiya tried to scream out a warning, but when she opened her mouth nothing came out. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t even clear her throat. Complete silence followed as the next few seconds seemed to go by in slow motion. When Aarik spotted them, a small ray of hope crept in, until she saw him freeze in place, moments later, crying out in desperation he fell to his knees in defeat. When her friends and family gazed past her in confusion, making no effort to rescue her, she screamed internally at their lack of effort before she remembered who they were dealing with. Any hope of rescue disappeared as she watched them rush towards Aarik and help him up and into the helicopter, before they flew away seconds later in stealth mode.

  It would appear you are not nearly as loved as you thought you were, Th’ael taunted telepathically, as they made the trek back through the secret passage into the auditorium. As they entered the room with the crystal wall, Th’ael used his mind control voice and said, “I grow tired of this world and its primitive species. Give me the crystal, so I can go home.”

  Wishing she could raise her hands to somehow block the control his multi-layered voice had over her body, she was ecstatic that she could disobey his command. Th’ael let go of Kiya and held out his hand in front of her as he waited for his precious stone. When she continued to stand there with her back to him, Th’ael turned her around roughly and screamed, “Where is it?” Still unable to move, she glared at him and growled. When sound emerged from her throat she grinned at him and said, “Sorry, not sorry to disappoint you yet again, but I was smart enough not to bring it. You fucking prick!”

  Th’ael raised his face to the sky and screamed out in frustration, before he began to tighten his hold on her arms until she cried out in pain. Tears rolled down her face when he looked down at her with an evil glare and said in a deep voice, “Your shrill voice is grating on my last nerve, I will hear no more.” Kiya’s cry of pain was cut off with his command before he added, “I will discover what you fear the most and when I am done with you, there will be nothing left for anyone to rescue.”

  Pushing her away in anger, Kiya would have toppled to the ground like a fallen tree, but was caught by Diego who snickered into her ear before he said, “Too bad there will be nothing left, I would have liked to have a piece or two before he was finished.” You would settle for seconds, like a mangy dog begging for scraps, thought Kiya, before she shuddered in disgust when she realized the reason why he would be having seconds in the first place.

  “This bitch is too lanky to carry around when she’s stiff as a board. I’d prefer not to get a hernia lifting her when it’s not necessary. Any reason she can’t be made to wa
lk to the hangar bay on her own?” whined Diego, when he stood her up and realized she was unable to move.

  “Your inferiority never ceases to amaze me,” snarled Th’ael, before his voice spoke in her mind, Your will belongs to me now. Follow along without a fight and I’ll let you live after I own your body and soul later tonight.

  If you own my will and can control whatever I do, how would I be able to put up a fight? Is it because you know there is a part of every person that cannot be owned? I think you fear I’ll find it and be able to resist you just like my grandmother did, on the day of your demise. Kiya paused to give him a second to put together the pieces of who she was before she thought, Oh, was that tidbit news to you? Well, I’m full of surprises, mister, and I’m here to tell you I will always resist you, with every breath of my being. Even if you control my body at the moment, I don’t believe you are strong enough to hold me long before I figure out a way to break free. In fact, I would wager either I’ll escape or Aarik will rescue me, before you’ll even get close to touching me, bluffed Kiya, with a pretension she didn’t feel. Her only thought was if she angered him enough, he would knock her out and be less likely to molest her body and soul if she was comatose. Unless, of course, he was into that sort of thing, thought Kiya, as she waited for his response and prayed her gamble paid off.

  Keeping a straight face was hard as he stormed toward her in anger and belted her across the face with a speed beyond the capability of a mere man. She raised her hand to her cheek and cradled it gently, surprised to find she had the freedom to move. Flicking her hands to the side he squeezed her face between his fingers and thumb until it felt if he added any more pressure her jaw would crush under the force. He glared into her eyes and shoved her away like she had the plague before he bit out in his commanding voice, “Come. No one here is prepared to carry a whale.”

  Kiya, unable to stop herself from responding, lamented the loss of her voice when she wasn’t able to form discernable sounds, let alone coherent retorts, and was forced to snort and huff her disagreement like a silent raving lunatic. Regardless of how much she wanted to disobey his command, her feet marched forward, following behind Diego and Th’ael like a faithful servant. She mourned her lack of independence and prayed, as they entered the Terra Locke, that Aarik would be able to find her. Disappointment continued to dog her as she realized Th’ael was taking Aarik’s terracraft, giving him no way of following after her.

  “Don’t worry, after I’m done with you, you won’t want to be rescued by him,” Th’ael whispered into her ear, before he strolled around her, powered up the podium and entered the coordinates of their destination. A shiver ran down her spine from the intrusion, but her body showed no outward sign of her disgust, instead her nipples hardened in betrayal despite what she was feeling. Th’ael turned around and caught sight of the high beams she was sporting and sneered lewdly before he said, “Your body knows what it wants. As for me, it will do.”

  At this point, Kiya would have settled for anything to indicate she was against his advances, even tears, but her body was no longer her own. All she could do was stand there and wait for him to command her to do something else, and his lecherous stare was grating on her last nerve. He smirked at her last thought and commanded her to get in the terracraft so they could depart. “Get in.”

  Kiya expected her feet to move her toward the craft, but, instead, felt a warm electrical charge spread over her body. It was like a protective blanket, shielding her from his command, and with each passing second her hope grew that she would be able to make a run for it. Up until the moment Th’ael realized she was gaining some control and knocked her out with a quick back hand to the cheekbone. As Kiya fell to floor, she pondered over her brief gain of control, but welcomed the silence and reprieve her unconsciousness would provide.

  *****************************************************************************

  Kiya woke in a panic when she tried to roll over and realized she was restrained with one hand tied to a luxurious king size bed. Flipping around to get a look at her predicament she groaned after hitting her cheek in the process and discovering she was being held in an unfamiliar cavernous room. Bringing her free hand up to gingerly probe her cheekbone for damage, she stopped midway and gasped out loud after noticing her new attire, “Oh my gods! What the hell am I wearing?” Kiya blurted out and smiled slightly with satisfaction in spite of her circumstances when she was able to speak freely.

  Her panic turned to rage when she picked up the silky green lingerie and dropped it in disgust when she thought about which of the two men had had the audacity to remove her clothes. Using her rage to focus on an escape plan, instead of worrying about what would happen next, Kiya turned to analyze the rope tying her hand to the bed. She silently thanked their stupidity when she maneuvered herself close enough to untie herself and cursed out loud when the knot wouldn’t loosen regardless of how much she tugged. Sighing loudly, she muttered to herself, “What is this? Some kind of a super rope?”

  “Something like that. So I’m told anyway,” responded Diego. Kiya whipped her head around to look at her captor and glared at him as he leaned against the bathroom doorway casually.

  “What are you doing in here?” Kiya spat angrily.

  “Babysitting. I was given guard duty until you woke up,” replied Diego, annoyed, as he pushed away from the wall and moved toward her.

  “Guess Th’ael knew you had no balls and would never trespass on his conquest,” taunted Kiya, before she added in an icy tone, “Where are my clothes?”

  “Not like you’ll ever need them again, but the woman who undressed you, either took them to be cleaned or destroyed,” answered Diego, as he moved slowly toward the other door in the room, gazing openly at her curves the whole time. He grabbed the handle and opened the door before he said, “I believe you meant to say I’m not stupid, with your previous statement regarding my balls. In fact, if you were smart at all, you would act more like me and just give him what he wants. He’ll end up getting it eventually and the longer you hold out on him, the worse your punishment will be. Take my advice, when he shows up later, call your friends and set up an exchange for the crystal.”

  “Oh, Diego, you sound like you care,” replied Kiya sarcastically, placing her free hand over her heart.

  “Don’t flatter yourself, I’m merely saving myself and those around me the displeasure of his bad temper,” Diego answered, gesturing to himself. “The longer he has to wait, the worse his mood gets. The only reason he hasn’t snapped yet is because he’s sleeping at the moment. I think he said something about recharging his power levels or something like that,” he added with a shrug.

  “How long have I been out?” Kiya inquired cautiously, hoping she had more time to plan her escape.

  “It felt like a century, but you’ve only been out for a few hours,” replied Diego, looking at his watch in amazement before he started to leave the room.

  “Wait! I have to go to the bathroom!” Kiya called out in desperation.

  “Fine, but only because I don’t want to hear him complain that you soiled yourself and the bed,” said Diego, disgusted.

  Kiya waited impatiently as Diego strolled slowly back to the bed. She squirmed her hips, trying to imitate the peepee dance, and smirked internally when he picked up his pace. Diego waved an opaque white polished rock over the rope and she watched in fascination as it uncoiled from her wrist on its own and then promptly dropped to the bed, limp and lifeless. Kiya rubbed her wrist dramatically as she scooted off the bed and pulled the lingerie outfit down to cover herself before walking to the bathroom where she tried to close the door behind her.

  “Not so fast princess. Leave the door open,” crooned Diego from the bed.

  “Eww. I need to relieve myself in more ways than one. You want to hear that?” countered Kiya, with a scowl on her face as she glared at him from the doorway.

  “No. You can close the door, but if you’re not out of there in ten minutes,
I’ll break the door down,” Diego stammered, embarrassed.

  Kiya shut the door triumphantly, turned around and leaned against it with a sigh of relief. She didn’t allow herself much time to gather her thoughts before she rushed forward, turned on the faucet to wash her hands and rummaged through the cabinets and drawers quietly for anything she could use to her advantage. When her search turned up nothing she cursed under her breath, turned off the water and said, “Shit. Think, Kiya, think. What are my options?” Deciding to use the time wisely, she sat to relieve herself and closed her eyes. Praying silently for a miracle she whipped her head toward the shower when she swore she could hear Aarik speaking to her from that direction. When she heard nothing else she hung her head in disappointment and whispered, “You’re losing it, girl. Get a grip on yourself. He’s not here to miraculously save you. You’ll need to save yourself.”

  I might not be there physically, but I am with you where it counts, replied Aarik, in her head, before he added, I’ve been trying to reach you for hours. Are you hurt? Where are you?

  Kiya covered her mouth to stifle her reaction as she responded telepathically, I’m in a bathroom at the moment, which is presumably connected to a master bedroom. Really it’s just a bunch of lavish furniture located in a large cavern. It could be underground possibly; it smells a little musty to me. Diego gave me ten minutes to relieve myself about three minutes ago, so I don’t have much time.

  Are you alright? Aarik growled.

  Kiya huffed out a small laugh before she said, Besides a nice shiner, I’m ok. They have me tied to a bed with a magic rope, with barely anything on while they wait for Th’ael to wake from his rejuvenating slumber. I’m not sure how much longer that will be, so any bright ideas you might have would be beneficial. I think his control over me is severed while he is sleeping and if I’m going to have any hope of escaping I should do it soon.