Taking one last, deep breath, I pull back and kick the column with all of my strength.
Crack.
Lines fly up the column. A chip of stone breaks away, leaving a tiny hollow in the pillar. A hoarse cry of surprise rises from my throat. All my fury and desperation flood through me, fueling me. I have to do this.
I back up to give myself more space. Then, I run at the pillar. When I’m close, I propel myself into the air and kick the crack as hard as I can.
The force of the kick sends me flying backward into the wall. I land on the ground with a thud that takes my breath away.
Pieces of rock shatter away from the widening crack and litter the ground at its base. The column sways in its foundation.
I don’t wait for the column to fall before I’m at the next one down the tunnel, punching and kicking and shouting. The pillar loosens in its foundation, wobbles, and then breaks off from the ceiling. There’s a rush of dirt and stone into the cave before the pillar even hits the ground.
The effect of the two broken pillars shudders down the tunnel. The beams creak and groan under the weight of the shifting ceiling. Dirt rains down from above.
There’s no time to feel any sense of triumph as I race down the tunnel ahead of the crumbling walls and ceiling. The ground shifts and groans overhead.
With a final crack that reverberates through the tunnel, dirt pours down around me. I throw myself against the crumbling wall, avoiding a boulder that breaks off from the ceiling and shatters on the floor of the tunnel. Muffled screams cut through the crash of stone as the Duskers are pulled down into the maze of collapsing tunnels.
Dirt fills my mouth, choking me. I try to push my way through the rubble, but it’s falling too fast now. Everything above is rushing to fill the empty spaces. Dust makes it impossible to see. I press forward through the tunnel that is fast-disappearing behind me as it fills with debris.
I can’t go any further. A narrow space protected by an overhanging sheet of rock is all that keeps me from being crushed by a mountain of dirt and stones. I crouch down to the ground and cover my head with my hands, gasping for air.
It’s several minutes before the rocks stop falling. My lungs scream as I take small, shallow breaths. It’s completely dark.
I’m trapped. In the blink of an eye, I’m a child again, buried alive in the Subterrane. Panic squeezes my throat like fingers. I can almost hear the Dwellers on the level above, just out of sight, debating my fate. Their words ring as clearly as if they were wedged into this precarious shelter with me.
She’s a Bisecter. A freak. Let nature take its course.
How many times have their words invaded my dreams? And now, when death is so near, they are my only companions in this dark place.
No.
I raise my head. I won’t wait for the rocks to begin falling again, or for my air to run out. There was so much the Dwellers didn’t understand, but there is one thing they got right.
I am a Bisecter.
I stand up as much as the cramped space allows. I’ll only have a few seconds once the rocks are disturbed before everything collapses on me.
My heart throbs as I try to steady myself. This time, instead of the Dweller’s words, Aunt Jadem’s voice echoes in my head. You are more than the sum of your parts.
“I am a Bisecter.”
I push my arms up, raising the boulder sheltering me and everything that rests above it. There is a moment when I feel nothing but the weight of all that lies between me and the surface. And then, with another hard thrust, the boulder shoots up through the layers of dirt and stone above. For the briefest of moments, there’s a narrow opening in the boulder’s wake.
I jump, scaling the rocks that churn and tumble beneath my feet. The moving earth drags me down, but I climb. Faster and faster.
CHAPTER 51
It’s high day, and I’m alone.
Where there used to be an army of Duskers between the wooden gates and the weapons building, there is now a gaping crater. I skirt around the edge, careful not to be drawn down with the ground that is still sliding into the depths below. Patches of gray cloaks and sword hilts peek out from the mess of stone and dirt.
My pulse races every time I look down into one of the pits for signs of my army being dragged down with the Duskers.
They made it far enough away, I tell myself. Dayne led them all to safety.
Still, as I survey the full extent of the destruction, panic begins to creep into my thoughts. The two buildings still stand, one of them tilted at a precarious angle. Everything between them and the wooden gates is gone.
Everything is quiet. There’s something strangely peaceful about being out here instead of hidden away in the caves. Once I discovered the sun couldn’t hurt me, I figured I might be able to go outside during the high day, but I never tried it until now. Before, I would have been too worried about being attacked by Halves or revealing what I was to my companions. I never would have been able to feel…this.
I toss my head back, letting the hood of my cloak fall away so my face is bathed with the light of the red-hued sun. No one is staring at me. There are no voices to tell me I’m terrible or special. There aren’t even any animals on the Outside. I feel the blazing sun on my bare skin without pain. I feel free.
✽✽✽
It takes my eyes several moments to adjust to the dim torchlight when I wrench open the stone door to the prison building. It fared worse in the collapse than the weapons building. The wooden floor is splintered and there are holes everywhere from the cave-in. Most of the upper floors are too warped and tilted to be useable. Part of the ground level is still intact, though.
Please let my army be in here.
“Hemera! Where have you been?” Ry demands.
“You’re here!” I step back, my eyes scanning the others milling around. “Is everyone alright? Dayne and—”
“Hemera’s back!”
There’s a chorus of shouts and whoops as I’m surrounded. Questions and praise surround me on all sides. There is a large group of Halves clustered on the far side of the building, although I notice Ekil isn’t among them. They’re eyeing the humans warily, but both sides seem to be leaving each other alone.
Even after everything we’ve been through together in the past day, it’s still seems impossible to see Halves in the same room as humans. Yet, here they are. I can’t forget all the suffering and death the Halves have brought on my people, but if it hadn’t been for these ones fighting by our side, we’d probably all be dead by now. If I could find the right words, I would tell them how grateful I am for their help. But a new fear keeps the words locked in my throat.
“Where is everyone else?” I ask.
Where the tunnel had been crowded before the battle, there’s now only a scattering of people.
No one speaks.
“They can’t all be….”
The soldiers’ haggard expressions are answer enough.
Ry shakes her head. “There were two more reptors after you left.” She looks around the circle and brightens. “But look how many you saved. Everyone from our company, and a good number of the prisoners. We were so outnumbered….”
“A lot of the Duskers took refuge in the weapons building,” Wade says. “I didn’t see how many—”
“We should assume a number of Zeidan’s guards survived, too,” Dayne says.
“And the rest of the Halves?” I ask.
Wade shakes his head. “I think a lot of them got away, but I’m not sure.”
Please let Ekil be one of the ones who escaped. I can’t even begin to imagine where I would be—where we all would be—if it weren’t for him.
“Hemera!”
Brice.
He pushes his way through the circle until he’s standing before me. His shirt is torn, exposing the smooth, muscled skin of his shoulder. I remember what it felt like to touch that place. My lips tingle at the remembrance of what it was like to kiss the hollow between his neck and sh
oulder.
The noise of the others surrounding us fades. Can he hear the way my heart is slamming against my ribcage?
There’s uncertainty and grief reflected in Brice’s eyes. Even with everything that’s happened, seeing his pain cuts me like a blade.
I shake my head in confusion, not knowing what to say, or even what to think.
I want to scream at him. I want to make him hurt the way he hurt me. More than anything, though, I want to go to him. I want to feel his arms wrap around me as I nestle into the crook of his arm. I want to pull him against me until not even air separates us.
“Where were you?” Dayne’s voice breaks the spell. He knocks Brice aside as he pushes his way to me.
“I’m fine,” I try to tell him, but it doesn’t stop him from scanning me up and down for injuries.
It’s strange to see the protective look in Dayne’s eye. Now that I know he’s my brother, I notice other similarities besides the blue of his eyes: his slender features that mask the strength that lies beneath, the gentle surety in his every movement, the way his forehead creases in concern over my well-being. When I look at him, I can almost imagine it’s my mother smiling back at me.
“That was quite a stunt you pulled out there,” Jarosh says. There’s a deep gash across his cheek, but he still manages a grin.
“What do we do now?” Thutmose demands.
“We don’t have much time.” I raise my voice above the questions and excited chatter. “Some of the Duskers survived.”
When I’d poked my head into the weapons building, I’d heard muffled voices and seen gray cloaks.
“Then they’ll have us surrounded as soon as it’s low day.” Dayne’s mouth is set in a grim line.
“And all we’ve got is a handful of wooden spears,” Ry adds, cradling her empty quiver like a lost child.
“I can go out and get more of the poisonous plants,” I say. “I just need to know what I’m looking for.”
There’s a quiet hush as everyone takes this in. The Bisecter can go outside during high day, I can almost hear them thinking. But no one says anything.
Thutmose clears his throat, and with a nod from Jarosh, ticks off a long list of all the plants we need and where I can find them.
I make trips back and forth, bringing cloth bags filled with the deadly plants. It takes longer than last time because I have to run past the boundaries of the fortress to land that was not swallowed up by the cave-in. By low day, color radiates from the arranged piles, giving the building and everyone in it an iridescent glow.
No one says what we’re all thinking…that all the deadly plants in the world won’t be enough to save our shrunken army from the Duskers.
Just before low day, we assemble at the building’s entryway. Without Ekil, the Halves seem less certain about trusting me. They’re willing to fight with us, but they don’t say much, and they’re few in number.
Jarosh and Thutmose divide up the poisonous plants. Our shrunken army looks pathetic, with soldiers gripping yellow flowers instead of swords.
“I’m leading them from their cells to their death.”
I didn’t realize I had spoken the words aloud until Dayne replies, “You gave them their freedom. You gave us all a chance to fight our enemies, rather than die in chains at their feet.”
I try to swallow around the lump in my throat.
Dayne steps in front of me, waiting until I meet his gaze. “I’m honored to fight by your side, little sister.”
Before I can begin to find the words to reply, Dayne pulls me into a hug. For a moment, I’m too overcome to react, but then, I hug him back. Tears run down my cheeks and absorb into Dayne’s cloak. I don’t bother to wipe them away.
I shouldn’t feel safe in a place like Tanguro. I shouldn’t feel like I belong. And yet, with my brother’s arms around me, I feel both these things. I know that whatever we’re going to face in the coming hours or days, I’m not going to have to face it alone.
When Dayne lets go of me, I give him a wobbly smile. There’s no way I can ever put into words how much I appreciate him being here with me, so I don’t even try. I take a shuddering breath and face my army.
It’s minutes into low day when the harsh sound of the Duskers’ horn carries across the courtyard. I exchange a look with Dayne, and he gives me an encouraging nod.
We’re as ready as we’re going to be.
With a single word from me, we’re marching out to meet the enemy.
CHAPTER 52
The Duskers meet us partway between the two buildings. They strike without mercy. The thunk of their crossbows is followed by screams. A dozen of our soldiers fall before we can retaliate. We throw the touch-me-nots as soon as we get close enough, and I kill five with my sling by the time the two armies are upon each other.
“Attack!”
My soldiers let loose a volley of notty nellies and touch-me-nots. The Duskers shriek and run from the poisoned syrup and flaming spikes. We cheer their retreat, even though they’re already regrouping.
“This battle is no place for a little girl,” a Dusker taunts me, his voice muffled through the gray mask he wears.
“This little girl is the last person you’ll ever see,” I retort, stepping toward him with my fists raised.
“Ugh! Those eyes!” The Dusker stumbles back, tripping over his own feet. “What are you?”
I wrench the sword out of the Dusker’s resisting hands, and lean closer.
“I’m a Bisecter,” I say, just before I slice the blade across his neck.
Three Duskers throw themselves at me. I jump to the side, just missing a blow aimed at my neck, but I trip over a reptor’s body and fall to the ground. My blade flies out of my hands. Two of the Duskers race around behind me, cutting off my escape. The other stalks forward, raising his sword. I’m caught between a pile of stones and a reptor’s corpse.
I try to scramble back, but there’s nowhere for me to go. The blade flashes in the sunlight as it descends. And then it stops…just before it pierces my chest.
The Dusker is motionless, as though time has somehow stopped. But then the Dusker falls backward. He collapses onto his side, revealing a thick blade wedged between his shoulders. Ekil bends down and yanks his blade free.
“You saved me,” I gasp as Ekil stoops to help me up.
My relief at seeing Ekil here and alive is so strong it almost overwhelms my near-death. Almost.
“You—” My words are cut off as Ekil lets out a terrible scream. His hand grips mine as his eyes widen in pain and terror.
Thick blood runs down his side.
“No!”
I search the ground for something, anything, to defend Ekil. My eyes land on the blade that lies beside the Dusker’s body. I grasp the handle and force myself to my feet. At the same time, Brice draws his sword, stained with brown blood, to strike again.
The blade slips out of my hand. “What are you doing?” I gasp.
Brice doesn’t answer. There’s murder in his eyes.
I hold out my hands to Brice, pleading for him to stop. “They’re not the enemy!”
Brice points his sword at Ekil’s heart.
“Brice, please,” I beg. “Don’t.”
Brice and I stare at each other. I see the moment when Brice gives in. He gives a slow, reluctant nod.
“For you,” he says. “I’d do anything for you.”
Before I can reply, a Dusker comes out of nowhere. Brice pushes me to the side, out of the Dusker’s path. We both fall to the ground. Brice is on top of me, shielding my body with his.
“Kill the Halve,” the Dusker screams.
I watch in horror as three of them converge on Ekil. Ekil runs, but he’s weaponless and wounded from Brice’s attack. The three Duskers are herding him right toward the place where their soldiers are most numerous.
“I have to help him,” I gasp, pushing Brice off me.
“There are too many Duskers,” he shouts. “It’s too dangerous.”
&n
bsp; “He saved my life.” I get to my feet and pick up Ekil’s fallen blade. “I’m going after him.”
“It’s just a Halve! You’ll get yourself killed.”
I don’t wait long enough to respond to Brice. Instead, I chase them down.
The battlefield is crowded, and I keep having to change my path to get out of the way of others who are fighting. By the time I close the distance between us, Ekil is being driven straight into a group of at least ten Duskers.
I don’t hesitate. I run forward, right into their midst.
The first Dusker I reach strikes my blade with such speed I don’t have a chance to anchor my stance. I’m already off balance, and when another Dusker rushes me, I hit the ground with so much force I’m stunned.
The Dusker lands on top of me. He’s bleeding, but it doesn’t stop him from slicing his dagger across my ribcage. I scream in pain as I wrestle for the weapon. I manage to grasp the soldier’s arm and twist it so the dagger points at him instead of me.
The Dusker cracks his forehead against mine, and for a moment, all I see is blackness. Something hits the Dusker from behind, and his body goes limp on top of me. I can’t move. I can’t even breathe.
All I can do is watch the scene before me as I struggle to shove the dead weight off me and draw air into my lungs.
Ekil is fighting two of the Duskers, but without a weapon, he won’t hold out for long. A spray of brown blood arcs over him. The Duskers duck and scatter to avoid it, but they don’t stay away for long.
Move! I want to scream to the Halve, but I can’t find enough air to make the sound.
It’s as though everything is moving in slow motion. I see the Duskers moving in, their blades poised for the killing blow. I see Ekil, his black eyes unfocused, blood still leaking from his many wounds.
I thrust the dead body off me and draw in a gasping breath.
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