Remains of Urth

by Jennifer Martucci

  I trust that question will be answered the moment the door opens and the portly Urthman I saw in the arena walks in. Flanked on either side by heavily armed guards all dressed in uniform, he waddles forward. The same white wig he wore last time is perched atop his head and an ornate red and white robe drapes around his shoulders, trailing along on the floor behind him. Seeing him this close, his face looks to be altered. Oversized lips that resemble that of a fish protrude and are curved in a perpetual frown and his eyes, black just as all other Urthmen, look as though an invisible string pulls them upward toward his forehead. The overall appearance is one of constant surprise. He is ridiculous looking. At any other time, I’d laugh out loud. The fact that he’s likely here to witness my execution bleeds all humor from the moment. I turn my head, feeling the blade of the sword break the skin at the back of my neck. My gaze lands on Reyna. Shoulders back and head held high as if she welcomes her fate, a flood of emotions runs through me. Chief among them is respect. Ultimately, she will forfeit her life to help my sister. Reyna’s action, which will result in her death any minute now, prevented Ara from being brutalized by Krono. I can’t help but wonder whether she did that for Ara, or me. I’ll never know and will never get the opportunity to ask. Especially when the Urthman wearing the wig claps his hands twice in quick succession. “What happened here? Why was I woken? To see two filthy humans in my office?” His voice is strange and with an affectation that lengthens the s’s in every word. Despite how absurd his sibilance sounds, he manages to intimidate. All of the other Urthmen in the room bow their heads as if ashamed.

  “These two killed Krono, the guard stationed at Human Block 7, your Highness,” the Urtman with his blade at my neck says.

  “Humans killed an Urthman guard?” the Urthman with the blubbery lips shouts, spittle spraying from his mouth. His brow raises his eyes even higher. He’s furious, yet his unusually high brow and wide eyes cause him to look astonished instead.

  “Yes, Prince Cadogan,” the guard replies.

  “He was sexually abusing the girls in my cell!” Reyna’s clear voice rings out.

  “He was about to take my fourteen-year-old sister for that purpose,” I add and follow her lead.

  “Nonsense!” Prince Cadogan replies. His tone is indignant. “An Urthman would never lay with a foul beast such as a human!”

  “It’s true and I’m sure they know about it!” I point to two guards I recognize from our cells. Their eyes dart nervously from me to Prince Cadogan.

  “Is there any truth to this nonsense?” Prince Cadogan demands. His demeanor is dismissive.

  “No, your Highness,” one replies. “Of course not.”

  “You liar!” Reyna shouts. “I’ve seen you as he’s dragged me out and you knew exactly what he was doing!” Rage trembles through her voice and her cool blue gaze is withering.

  “I don’t know anything,” the guard replies. His tone is unconvincing, as is his entire manner. “I never followed Krono to see where he was taking them.”

  My head snaps from the guard to Reyna then to Prince Cadogan. Did everyone hear that he basically just admitted the accusation against Krono is true? Judging from the look on her face, Reyna did. I did. It’s hard to decipher Prince Cadogan’s features, though.

  “So you’ve seen him drag human girls out of their cell in the middle of the night and never asked him what he was doing? Never thought to report it either?” Prince Cadogan questions.

  “Well, uh, no, sir,” the guard stammers.

  “Sir?” Prince Cadogan bellows. “You dare to address me as sir?” His chubby hands are balled into fists and placed on his hips. He leans forward, face an unhealthy shade of red.

  “No, your Highness, I didn’t mean—” he starts but is cut off.

  “Kill him.” Prince Cadogan speaks two simple words to the guards who accompanied him, and within seconds, they act. A dagger is pulled and promptly buried into his throat. He tries to say something, to cry out, but all that I hear is a burbling sound followed by the sight of blood pouring from the wound. It drips to the ground in a gory puddle. As soon as the dagger is removed and he is released, he falls to the floor. None of the other guards react. I’m stunned silent. Reyna appears to be as well.

  “What do we do with them?” the guard who holds the bloody dagger asks.

  “Oh, they’re going to die. But it isn’t going to be that easy.” Prince Cadogan sneers. “This can’t get out. No one outside of this room can know that a human killed an Urthman.”

  “So what do we do with them?” the guard asks as he wipes the blood from his dagger on the dead Urthman’s pant leg.

  “They will be our main attraction in the arena the day after tomorrow.” Prince Cadogan rubs a finger over his blubbery lips then taps it there for a moment. “Until then, lock them in the tombs.” He attempts to lower his brow in order to glare at us. The attempt fails. He still looks surprised. “They’ll be made an example of. We’ll teach the other humans a lesson. We’ll show them what will happen if ever an Urthman is attacked by one of them again.”

  “What lesson will they learn?” I ask. I can only imagine the horrors that await us in the arena. I’ve witnessed it myself. And never learned anything from it. All it has shown me is that Urthmen are every bit as barbaric as the elders in my village told me they were.

  “Oh you’ll find out,” Prince Cadogan promises, his voice a low growl. “Now get them out of my sight!” he orders his soldiers.

  At his command, Urthmen descend on us. With one on each side of me, I’m gripped by my upper arms and pulled to my feet. I half walk and am half dragged down the hallway. We continue down it, away from the cells and in a direction we’ve never been in. Once again, the passageway transforms. A damp chill hangs in the air and smooth stone gives way to jagged rocks that poke out, some sharp and hostile looking.

  “Stop,” the Urthman ahead of me orders. He stands before what looks like cage doors flush against the floor. One is opened and Reyna is unshackled.

  I look at the opening, then at her. Warning shrieks through my core. But before I can call out her name, Reyna is pushed into the opening. Our gazes clash in the seconds before she falls. Pure terror claims her features then she disappears. Screams echo before a distant thud is heard. “Noooo!” I scream as the cage is locked above her. “Get her out of there!” I hear my voice and realize I am being unshackled as well, that what happened to her is about to happen to me. But all I can think of is the image of Reyna. Her face. Her eyes. The fear. The sound of her hitting the bottom of whatever pit she’s been cast into. My chest aches. Hope bleeds from me.

  I don’t resist the guards when they push me feet-first into the circular opening in the tunnel floor. Air leaves my lungs as I fall. I squeeze my eyes shut, plummeting. I land hard, thankfully on my feet. Pain radiates up my legs lingering in my knees, which absorbed the majority of the impact. I open my eyes and look all around me. I see I have just inches on either side of me. Panic washes over me like needles of icy rain. Hard, loose objects underfoot make moving difficult. Not that there’s much room to move. I look down and sweep my foot to one side, moving the debris away. And when I do, the meager light that trickles in from above reveals that the loose objects underfoot I assumed were rocks are not rocks at all. Slender and pale, some larger than others, the objects are unmistakable. My breath catches in my chest and bile rockets up my throat. Bones, likely human bones, are scattered all around me. I stagger for a moment, stepping backward until my back touches the wall. I don’t know why I’m so shocked, why a pile of bones at my feet in this tomb would even surprise me. But it does. Shaking and fraught by the culmination of all that’s occurred leading up to this, the dark world around me spins violently. I allow my shoulders to hunch and my body to slide down the wall until I’m sitting. I tuck my legs to my chest, hugging them to my body tightly. I close my eyes and try to envision a wider space, the forest. Anywhere but here. I try to picture myself safe. My parents alive and safe. I will the ni
ghtmare away, this nightmare that has been my life since Cian was killed. But it doesn’t work. My will is strong but incapable of time travel. Incapable of undoing what has been done. So I remain still. My muscles ache and my temples throb. I’m exhausted but am certain sleep will not find me. That’s just as well. A part of me, larger than I’d like to admit, doesn’t want to wake to what tomorrow is going to bring.

  Chapter 13

  Eyes opening wide, I’m awakened by pebbles scraping at my exposed skin. Hands grip my wrists and pull so hard my arms feel as if they’ll be torn from their sockets. My cheek is bleeding, abraded and raw. I lift my head and try to curtail the sting. But it does little to help.

  I don’t know how long I’ve been imprisoned in the narrow, tube-like space. Confined and unable to stretch and with only meager threads of light streaming in, I feel like a week has passed since I was dropped into the narrow tomb. More than likely, it’s only been a night or two. And now I’m being dragged from it by three Urthmen. I’d be relieved to escape. That is, if I wasn’t positive I’ll die at my next destination.

  “Get up!” an Urthman barks the second my wrists are released. I collapse to the ground. I try to push myself up, but my muscles cramp, weak from holding the same position in my claustrophobic cell. After a few tries, I make it onto all fours. When I do, I see that Reyna has been dragged out, as well. Scratches and cuts mar her skin and her arms tremble when she lifts herself up.

  “Are you okay?” I ask her. My throat is dry and my voice is rough. I’m hungry, thirsty and weak.

  “For now,” she answers. Her gaze bounces from one Urthman to the next then back to me. “But I’m sure I won’t be for long.” Haunting eyes in a frosty shade of blue stare straight through me. Her words. Her expression. The small cut above her right eyebrow. All urge me to close the distance between us and wrap my arms around her, pull her close so that her head rests against my chest and just hold her. My aching muscles twitch in response, responding to whatever force inside that compels me. I start to move, to reach out to her, but am yanked to my feet from behind.

  “I said on your feet!” I’m jerked back and upward, away from Reyna by an Urthman guard, a fact that makes me ache in a way that’s foreign to me. She is yanked to her feet as well. A small sound escapes her lips. Pained and so soft I doubt anyone heard it except me, my muscles tense at her cry.

  “Reyna!” her name tears from a primal part of me. Her head whips in my direction. Our eyes meet. And in the instant they do, her features, which were contorted in fear and pain, smooth. A look registers on her face. I’m unsure of what it means exactly. All I know is that heat races up from my collar, and for a split-second, the fact that I’m being led to my death evades me.

  “Human filth!” the Urthman shackling my wrists spits. “You’re going to pay for what you’ve done.” Foul-smelling spittle sprays from his mouth. I want to turn my head and wince. But I don’t. That’s what he wants me to do. I lock eyes with him in defiance. Reyna is shackled, as well, and we’re shoved along. We’re ushered down a long corridor. The passageway reeks of sweat. And the metallic stench of blood. Both hang in the air so thick and cloying they coat my tongue. Bile rises in my throat, both from nausea and hunger. Utter panic does the same. We continue walking. The only sounds I hear are of our booted feet hitting the stone floor and the frantic pound of blood drilling my eardrums. I don’t know how much time has passed when light floods the end of the tunnel. Blanched in the palest of light, the walls flare, widening until blades of grass are visible, a considerable expanse of emerald unfurling before me. The smell of damp soil replaces all other odors. After being trapped in a space so confined I couldn’t lift my elbows, the prospect of wide open space and fresh air makes my insides buzz involuntarily. But the moment I cross the threshold from the tunnel to the outdoors, my stomach plummets. The prisoners from my cell and Reyna’s are gathered around the perimeter of the yard. Expectance clings to the atmosphere like moss to a beech tree. The only faces I zero in on, however, are Kohl, Pike and Ara. All three are chained to steel rings that protrude from a concrete wall, their arms behind them. They’re the only prisoners tethered to the wall. The rest just occupy the outskirts of the grassy space.

  I scan the faces of all the prisoners and immediately feel eyes boring into me. Cas stands, with his arms folded across his chest and a smug smile lifting the corners of his mouth. Excitement radiates from him in sinister waves. Seeing the look on his face makes me believe the actual act of dying will be preferable to whatever dreadful acts the Urthmen have in store for Reyna. The moment a group of approximately ten Urthmen circles us, that sentiment multiples tenfold. Each holds in his hand a thick, smooth object that resembles a branch.

  “Lucas, what’s happening here?” Reyna asks, but before I can answer, an Urthman descends on her, striking her in the stomach. She cries out and doubles over, clutching her abdomen.

  “No!” I shout. “Reyna!” I watch in horror as she’s struck again and again in her legs, back and shoulder. Powerless to help and sickened in a way that can’t be quantified, I writhe and kick. My motions are met with a swift blow to my back that feels as though it’s splintered my spine. I drop to my knees, paralyzing veins of pain snaking down in my limbs. I will myself silent, to stifle the cries of pain that threaten to vault from my lungs. My chin dips and I squeeze my eyes shut, raging against it. When I open my eyes, I see my sister. Tears spill from her eyes and she screams my name. Beside her, Kohl’s neck and face blaze like fire. He lunges forward, struggling to break free, but his efforts are a waste. Neither the steel of the shackles nor the concrete yield. Pike remains, frozen in place, his eyes wide and his mouth partially agape. Another blow lands against my ribs. The wind is knocked from me and I fall forward. As I do, I see Cas. He laughs, clapping his friends on the back and pointing at Reyna and me. The anger I feel at the sight is minimal, though. I have far bigger problems at the moment.

  Facedown and with pain throbbing through every inch of me, the Urthmen abandon their weapons in favor of their fists and feet. A flurry of punches and kicks strike my face and torso, my arms and legs. My entire body hurts. Blood pours from my nose, mouth and countless cuts mar me. My vision blurs and several times consciousness threatens to escape me. Though it would be a welcome alternative to what I’m enduring, I’m grateful to be awake. If I fall to oblivion, it would be a small victory for them. Maintaining consciousness is the only way I can rebel. So I fight. I fight the dark tide lapping against me, lulling me into nothingness, to a place where the pain would subside, to where the screams and cries of my brothers and sister and Reyna would quiet. It calls to me. I yearn for it. But I resist. Every painful blow and stinging slash is affirmation that I will take this beating and whatever other torture they offer on my own terms.

  I keep telling myself that as the savagery continues for what feels like an eternity. Through eyes that’re nearly swollen shut, I glimpse Reyna. Flaxen hair bears crimson stains and is matted in clumps, and her pale skin is bruised badly. Her head is bowed and all I can see is the exposed skin of her arms. I’m glad for that at the moment. I don’t know if I could handle seeing her face right now. I fear I’d break down and cry. I’d want to go to her. To hug her and comfort her. But bound and beaten as I am, I’m of no use to her. I watch helplessly as she’s yanked to her feet. I am, as well. My legs tremble and can’t support my weight. She collapses to the ground after they attempt to make her stand also.

  “Stand up, humans, or you die!” An Urthman shouts so close to my ear a ringing sound is left once he is quiet.

  Using what little strength I have, I stand. My knees buckle twice, but I manage to stay upright. An Urthman to my left unsheathes a dagger and rushes toward me. I’m sure my life will end, that the blade will be dragged across my throat, but when he stops short of my neck and hacks away vertically at the collar of my shirt, I realize he’s cutting my clothes off.

  “What’re you doing?” My words are garbled and incoherent to anyone
but me. I try again a few more times and am met with curse words. I’m stripped down naked. So is Reyna. And with our arms bound behind our backs, we’re left without the slightest chance of covering ourselves.

  Jeers ring out. “They’re even more disgusting naked!” one Urthman calls out.

  “Yeah, filthy humans!” another shouts.

  Numerous nasty comments volley about. We’re laughed at, insulted in every imaginable way, and then led by the chain connecting our wrist restraints to a far corner of the courtyard, where a thick pole stands about twelve feet tall. Our shackles are removed and our arms and legs are wrapped around the pole, only to be added once again. Facing Reyna now, I only look at her eyes. A cut sits above her right eyebrow and a thin rivulet of blood trickles from it to her chin. Intermittently, her head lolls. She’s fighting to stay conscious, just as I did. I force my elbow outward, touching the skin of her arm with it. Her head lifts quickly and her eyes focus on me briefly before they peer over my shoulder. Fear shrouds her expression. I turn, feeling battered muscles bunch and complain, and look behind me. The Urthmen have forgone their sticks and now their fists and feet as well. Thick straps of leather have replaced them. I close my eyes just before I hear a snap rip through the ether. The shrill sound is like a clap of thunder. That snap is followed by a sting so bad tears immediately burn my eyes. I don’t even have time to flinch. Lash after lash bites my flesh. Skin opens. I feel the burn, feel the thick slide of blood spilling down my back. I hiss, no longer able to contain the need, then cry out in agony. That agony is worsened knowing that Reyna is experiencing it, and that my brothers and sister are witnessing it. They cry out, begging for an end. Through the haze of anguish, I see the Urthmen. Their grunts are menacing. Their faces frightful masks of arrogance and fury. It’s impossible to focus on their faces, or anything else for that matter. Multiple lashes coming at once leave me unable to think straight, to breathe or concentrate on anything. My body is slick with sweat and blood and filled with mind-numbing pain.