by Kate L. Mary
She was in her late teens, probably a good ten years younger than her brother, and broad and tall like all the Fortis. Her skin was brown like Asa’s, although not as dark, thanks to a lifetime of being hidden away in this tower, and her eyes were just as big and beautiful. They reminded me so much of her brother that it caused an ache to spread through me, and not just because he was trapped in the city, but because it brought to mind what he told me about the day she was born. How he had wanted her to stay in the village, but his parents had insisted she be sent away. All because of the extra arm protruding from her right side.
“Asa,” Elora said, her brown eyes wide with questions and worry.
“In the city.” My voice caught in my throat when her eyes grew wider, and I found it impossible to say anything else.
Mira, sensing that I was too overcome with emotion, took over. “We have to get in there, but we cannot. Not as long as the bubble is up. We need you to destroy the mirrors. It is the only way.”
A few of the other untouchables had come over to listen and were now shaking their heads, but no one responded. They were torn, I knew. They had to understand this was the only way, but it was also a huge risk. If we did not succeed, the Sovereign would not forgive their betrayal. They would wipe out everyone in the tower.
“You do not need to fear the Sovereign,” Roan said. “Once the bubble is down, you can retreat to the wilds where you will be safer.”
“Not all of us are capable of leaving,” Elora called.
I remembered seeing people inside the tower who could not walk. People who had no limbs, or who had limbs that were shriveled beyond use.
“We will leave no one behind,” Ontari said, firmly. “My people have many like you among us, and we will not leave you to die.”
Elora turned to talk to the others, and I held my breath while I waited to see what would happen.
Even if they agreed to this, I was unsure what our next step would be. Would the bubble covering the city come down immediately, or would it take time? Even if it came down, how would I get into the city, and once I was there, how would I find Asa? When I did find him, what did I do next? Was getting the gate open all we needed to do to defeat the Sovereign? Before the bubble appeared, I had thought that our army would be enough to take the Sovereign out. Now, though, I was less sure, and I was terrified that we had underestimated their technology.
They were still talking the plan through when the bubble vanished.
It happened even more suddenly than when it had appeared, there one second and gone the next, leaving us all too shocked to utter a word. The untouchables fell silent, looking up at the sky as if searching for the bubble, and then toward the city, while all around me, my fellow Outliers did the same.
Like the tower, the bubble previously surrounding the wall was gone, but it took much longer than it should have for me to realize the hum of electricity had not faded.
That was when I knew we had run out of time.
“We are too late,” I gasped just as the low hum grew in intensity.
I spun to face the city, ignoring the frightened cries of the people around me. A bright light had begun to grow, radiating from the tallest point—the government building. It was where the Sovereign grew all their food, where they made everything they needed, and where the technology that was going to destroy us was held.
Just like when the bubble first appeared, there was a boom and a burst of light. Electricity hummed over me, and I found myself ducking, covering my head even as I kept my eyes up. I expected another bubble to spread out, this time covering the wastelands and the wilds and wiping out every living thing it touched, but that was not what happened. Instead, a beam of light shot from the government building, heading straight for the valley. I found myself holding my breath as I waited to see what would happen.
It was like a lightning bolt. It happened in a flash, and yet seemed to take forever to find its mark. When it struck, the ground beneath my feet shook and another bright light burst into the sky, this time reminding me of an enormous bonfire. I felt the sizzle of electricity from all the way across the wastelands, felt the hairs on my arms singe from the heat of it, and I instinctively knew that everyone in the valley was now dead.
“What has happened?” Ontari shouted from behind me.
I stood, my gaze focused on the distant valley where a small fire now burned. “The Sovereign have beaten us.”
10
Indra
I did not wait for a reply, but instead took off running. My previously weak and worn body put up no fight, nor did my gaze stray from the valley even though I felt desperate to look at the city. To know if something else was going to happen. To know if the gates had been thrown open and the remaining Fortis were now on their way to destroy us.
Behind me, footsteps pounded against the desert floor and gasps echoed through the air, telling me the others were on the move as well. Still, I could look nowhere but in front of me, especially as the valley grew closer and the mass of unmoving forms came into view.
We passed the entrance to the tunnel, but my brain barely registered it, and then we reached the edge of the lake. I did not slow, not even as we neared the middle and I saw the first dead fish bobbing on the surface. There was another one beyond that, and then more and more. Dozens upon dozens of them floating lifelessly on the surface of Sovereign Lake.
The motionless lumps became more visible, and my stomach convulsed. They were the bodies of the men and women who had stayed in the valley, their remains charred as if they had been burned, with smoke rising off them. It was when I reached the first one that I finally stumbled to a stop. He or she was nearly unrecognizable, but whoever it had been, the piercings on their forehead gave them away as Huni.
“No,” someone behind me said.
I turned to find Ontari skidding to a stop at my side. It was not until she fell to her knees beside the charred remains that I registered how tall and thin the person had been. Arkin. This was Arkin, Ontari’s most trusted advisor and the man she had most recently taken as a lover.
“This cannot be,” she said, looking up at me. “What happened? What did this?”
“Electricity,” I said, feeling the weight of it all on my shoulders.
I had known this could happen, but I had not acted fast enough. If I had, if I had focused on the bubble instead of Emori, I might have understood the Sovereign’s plan earlier. I might have been able to stop this from happening.
Zuri reached us and skidded to a stop, breathing heavily. “How could this happen?”
“It happened like I said,” I replied, my gaze not on her, but instead moving over the dozens of lifeless forms. “The Sovereign harnessed the power of their electricity and used it as a weapon against us.”
“If our entire army had been here,” Mira said, “we would have all died.”
“Yes,” I whispered.
It was a relief that most of our army had retreated into the wilds, but with the bodies smoldering in front of us right now, it was only a small consolation.
“The Sovereign will pay for this!” Roan roared, his voice echoing through the valley and off the Lygan Cliffs at our side.
I nodded as if in agreement, but faced with this most recent blow, I found myself wondering if we were strong enough. Found myself wondering if I had united the Outliers simply so the Sovereign could more effectively destroy us.
“This is my fault,” I whispered.
“What do you mean?” Mira asked. “You told us this could happen. You were trying to stop it.”
“Yes, I knew what they were capable of, I have seen it, but I did not come up with a plan soon enough. If I had, we could have stopped this.”
Ontari, still kneeling, tore her gaze from Arkin’s body so she could focus on me. “It is Emori’s fault, not yours. Had she not attacked you, had she not created a canyon in our army when the bubble went up, you would have thought of this sooner. This is her doing, not yours.”
Ontari was right, but it gave me little comfort.
When she moved to stand, I offered her a hand just as she had done for me earlier. She took it, nodding her thanks, and the sadness in her eyes went deeper than I expected considering the Huni did not choose mates for life.
“I am sorry about Arkin,” I told her.
She swallowed as if finding words difficult then said, “He was my first lover, and has been so off and on for many years. I was still a teenager when we first explored one another.” She let out a deep sigh that shook the way the ground had when the bolt of electricity struck. “I will miss his touch, but I will miss his counsel even more.”
“What happens next?” Mira asked.
Zuri was looking around, her expression sad as she surveyed our losses. “We must take care of the bodies.”
I hesitated to say what I was thinking, but only for a moment. After what happened here, I knew I needed to follow my instincts. They had not led me astray yet.
“We need to get out of this valley as soon as possible.”
The others turned to look at me, but no one uttered a sound.
“There is no telling what else the Sovereign might do,” I said, treading lightly, “and staying here would be a mistake. One that could prove deadly.”
“You think we should leave the bodies?” Roan asked.
I exhaled, both because I found the words difficult to get out, and because I knew the truth was going to sting.
“I do. I am sorry.” I turned to face Ontari. “It is not an easy thing to think about, but I believe it is the right decision. The remaining Fortis could already be on their way, for all we know, and there are only six of us. We must flee before they come.”
“Indra is right.” Ontari nodded as if trying to reassure herself, and the sadness in her eyes seemed to double. “We should go. Now.”
Though no one else voiced their agreement, neither did they protest, so we headed out, leaving the charred remains of our people behind in the valley. I paused for only a moment so I could look back toward the tower, wishing I had more time. Elora needed to know what had happened, both that Asa and I were now married, and that the Sovereign had struck us with a fatal blow. Still, I knew the untouchables were not ignorant of the ways of the Sovereign and had probably retreated into the tower by now. They would be safe. At least for the time being.
What was left of our army and the fish in the lake were not the only creatures affected by the Sovereign’s most recent attack. We passed the bodies of rawlin, the edges of their red feathers charred black, as well as the carcasses of forest cats and rodents. The grass in the valley, too, was singed, and I began to worry that the shock had affected not just the living things in the valley, but the rest of the wilds as well.
The further we traveled, the thicker the trees grew until we finally reached the end of the valley, and the destruction gave way to the life of the forest. Birds sang, the scratch of feet as rodents scurried to hide echoed through the trees, and my tense shoulders began to relax. I had not voiced my greatest fear before, but now that we had made it to the wilds to find it still alive with activity, I was able to say what I had been keeping inside.
“The shock did not reach the wilds, which means the rest of our people should be okay.”
“I had not thought of that,” Atreyu said, shaking his head.
“Thank the gods,” Ontari mumbled.
We paused at the fork in the river, knowing we would now have to part ways. It was only midday, but my exhaustion had reached a point where I felt as if my body were weighed down. Like I had gotten caught in a rainstorm or I was carrying large game back from a hunting trip.
“What will our next move be?” Roan asked.
“We will meet tomorrow. In the clearing,” I replied. “Beyond that, I cannot say. Not yet, anyway.”
“We must come up with something,” Zuri said. “Soon.”
“We will.” Her husband patted her arm, his focus still on me. “Tomorrow, then.”
“Tomorrow,” I agreed.
The others gave their goodbyes and headed off, Roan and Zuri moving toward the Mountari village while Ontari headed for Huni territory. Watching her walk away filled me with a sadness I had not felt since I walked into my own village and found my people slaughtered. All the tribes had lost people today, but she had lost the most. Not just because of Arkin, either, but because the Huni had more fighters than the rest of us and there had been more of them in the valley during the attack.
Once they were out of sight, Mira, Atreyu, and I started our own journey, heading for the cave we called home.
“What do you think the Sovereign will do next?” Mira asked as we walked.
“Send the Fortis out,” I replied. “They will want to know what is happening, and when they reach the valley, they will discover not all the Outliers have died. What they do from there, I cannot say.”
“Do you think they know we have aligned?” Mira asked.
I exhaled, hating what I was about to say because it would imply that Asa had in fact betrayed us. He had not—not by choice, at least—but I knew the reality of what he faced inside the city.
“I suspect Xandra and Bowie told the Sovereign about our army. If they did not, Nyko and Asa did.”
Atreyu stopped walking so he could turn and look at me, his eyes wide with shock. “You think Xandra would betray us?”
“I think,” I stopped, too, so I could turn to face him, “there is no limit to the Sovereign’s cruelty, and in the face of pain, few people have the strength to cling to their secrets.” I lifted an eyebrow in his direction, challenging him. “Do you think you could be tortured and say nothing?”
He hesitated for only a beat before shaking his head. “I do not.”
“It is not betrayal,” Mira said. “Not like what Emori did, anyway.”
“Yes,” I said with a sigh, and then started walking again, this time feeling as if someone had wrapped their arms around my body and I was pulling them with me.
It was not just exhaustion from lack of sleep, but the discussion about the city and what the people I loved were going through, as well as the uncertainty of what the Sovereign would do next.
“What about the untouchables?” Atreyu asked after a few moments of silence.
“They will be fine. The Sovereign have no reason to believe the people living in the tower helped us, so they will do nothing to them.”
“Good,” Mira said.
It was the only comfort I had after the disappointment of the day, so I clung to it, grateful that if nothing else, Elora was okay.
11
Asa
I blinked, trying to clear my vision after the blast of light. I was still lying on my back on the platform, still staring up at the sky, but nothing made sense.
One second the sphere had been there, hanging over the city, and the next it was gone. The buzz of electricity hadn’t faded, though. It had hung in the air and made the hair on my arms stand up while at the same time causing the ache leftover from the electroprod to grow in intensity. The boom that followed had shaken the city, and the burst of light made me shrink away. It had been over fast, how fast I wasn’t sure because my eyes had been closed, but when I’d managed to pry them open, the world had returned to normal.
Except it wasn’t normal.
I knew what had happened. Knew it was a weapon and that it had hit the valley where the Outlier army sat waiting for me to open the gates. Knew they had undoubtedly all been killed. Worst of all, I knew I had failed.
At my side, Lysander let out a deep sigh. “It’s over.”
I rolled my head to the side so I could look at him even though the sight of the plump man made me sick. If it was the last thing I did, I swore to myself I would use every ounce of strength in my body to kill him.
His gray eyes flitted toward me, barely visible beneath the red hood of the cloak he wore, and he shrugged. “We’ll send the Fortis out, of course, but no one can survive that. The Outliers are no
more.”
“No,” I mumbled.
“You aren’t the only one who wanted a different outcome.” He turned his back to me and waved toward Greer. “Get him on his feet. I want him to be able to see the bodies with his own eyes.”
Greer complied, a grin on his filthy face, and I was hauled to my feet. My legs were unsteady, but I managed to remain upright. Somehow.
On the other side of the platform, Lysander was talking with Dag. “Gather the Fortis. Be sure they’re armed in case there’s trouble.”
“Yes, sir,” Dag said.
Before he hurried off, Lysander turned to face Greer. “Get him to the gate. I’ll join you shortly.”
The Fortis man holding me complied with a glee in his eyes that made it seem like all the evil of the underworld had invaded his body. He dragged me from the platform and through the square, leaving Nyko behind in the stocks. Xandra was nowhere in sight, taken away at some point during my torture. Not only did I have no idea if she was dead or alive, but I wasn’t sure which one I should be hoping for.
“I’m looking forward to seeing that woman of yours again,” Greer growled as we wound our way through the city, passing robed figures who stopped and stared, our feet scraping against the stone roadways. “I’d like nothing more than the opportunity to spit on her corpse.”
I growled like an animal and struggled to free myself from his grasp, but made no progress. He was too strong, and my body was too beaten.
Greer let out a laugh that bounced off the tall buildings surrounding us. “When I fled the Fortis village the night of the attack, I prayed to the gods I’d get the chance to see you suffer. They have delivered.”
“It isn’t the gods who have delivered me to you, but the ruler of the underworld,” I spit at him.
Again, he let out a chuckle. “Then I will be in his debt when I finally meet him.”