by Kate L. Mary
Lysander paid her no mind.
It was odd that someone so ridiculous-looking could bring me such terror. He was too round, his legs too short. He wobbled as he moved, giving off the impression that with the slightest shove he would topple over. Yet the closer he got, the heavier the dread inside me became.
When he finally stopped in front of me, he was close enough that I could feel the heat from his breath with every exhale. “I was beginning to think this day would never come.”
He reached out as if to touch my face, and I jerked away. As quick as lightning, his other hand lashed out, wrapping around my neck and making it impossible to move when he reached up yet again. The cut Emori had made throbbed, the lygan teeth pulling tight against my skin, but the pain was nothing compared to the terror I felt when fingers, plump and moist, ran down the side of my face. Over my cheek to my lips, running across them in a sickening caress before moving down my neck. When his hand brushed my collarbone, I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the feeling of him pushing my shirt aside. Cool air brushed my shoulder, and the top of my chest, and I stiffened.
“Enough.” Saffron’s voice boomed through the room, making my body jerk.
My eyes were still squeezed shut when Lysander froze, his fingers on my shoulder. I held my breath, waiting to see what would happen, and letting it out in one violent burst when his hands fell away.
I stumbled back, reaching out with my eyes still closed to catch myself on the couch. Gasping and trembling, I tried to pull myself together, hating how weak this man made me feel.
“There will be more than enough time,” Lysander said. “After the husband is here.”
My eyes flew open. “No. You are to let him go.”
“Really, Indra,” Saffron said with a laugh, “I thought you were smarter than that.”
Even before I came I knew the Sovereign would not honor their deal, but I had to try. Had to do everything I could to ensure Asa did not die within these walls the way Bodhi had.
I focused on Lysander. “I will do whatever you want if you let him go. Anything.”
“You’ll do whatever I want anyway,” he replied with a satisfied grin.
I wanted to argue, but I could not. It was true, and we all knew it. Being back inside these walls meant I was once again nothing but a powerless Outlier.
19
Asa
Greer said nothing when he came for me, but I knew by the look on his face that Indra had arrived. I was dragged from my cell, through the dark and empty square, and toward what I knew would lead to the worst moment of my life. My wife was here, the only woman I had ever loved, and I would watch her die. I knew it as surely as I knew I would very soon burn in the underworld for all the sins I had committed on this earth.
We reached Saffron’s house too soon. I wasn’t ready. Wasn’t prepared for the end to come, but like everything else, there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Inside, the scene was exactly the way I had imagined it would be except for one detail. Emori was present. Dag had her in his clutches, his fingers wrapped around her forearm as she struggled to break free. Hate burned in her dark eyes, which were focused on Lysander. I knew the look well, had been the recipient of it each time we met, and despite everything else, I was grateful that for once it wasn’t focused on me.
Each of Emori’s cheeks had a slash across it, going from the corner of her mouth to the top of her cheekbone. The cuts were fresh, still healing, but scabbed over, and deliberate enough that I knew something big must have happened.
Indra stood on the other side of the room, flanked by Saffron and Lysander. There was a cut on her neck, held together by what looked like the teeth of a lygan, and she was dirty. Her arms and legs were streaked in ash that had no doubt come from the remains of the Fortis village, but she was beautiful nonetheless. Her green eyes captured mine and held me in a silent trance. She didn’t need to say a word for me to know what she was thinking.
“Asa,” she said, taking a step forward.
I expected Lysander or Saffron or even one of the three Fortis men in the room to stop her, but no one did. Nor did they try to stop me as I moved forward, took her in my arms, and pulled her against me. The embrace was firm, eager, but not nearly as desperate as the kiss. I crushed my lips against Indra’s, held her to me like I thought she would be ripped away at any moment. She clung to me as well, her hands twisting in my shirt, holding on like I was the only thing keeping her alive.
When the kiss ended, I refused to let her go, but instead wrapped my arms around her tighter. “You shouldn’t have come.”
“I had to. You know I did,” she said, her words muffled by my embrace.
“I know,” I whispered against the top of her head. “I know.”
“That’s enough,” Saffron said.
Too soon, Indra was ripped from my grasp. I tried to cling to her, but it was impossible with Greer and the other Fortis man pulling me one way while Lysander dragged Indra in the opposite direction.
Seeing his hands on her, knowing the things he had done and the things he would still do, made me blind with fury. I growled, fought. Pushed at the men holding me until they could do nothing to keep me in line but shove me to the floor.
I was down, on my stomach, when the shock went through me. It made my body jerk uncontrollably and pulled a shout out of me that seemed twice as loud as all the previous ones combined.
“No!” Indra cried.
The agony in her voice made the pain more intense, and I struggled to get up, tried to drag myself to my feet to show her I was okay. That she didn’t need to worry.
A knee landed in the center of my back before I could make it far, and Greer growled, “Stay down.”
I did as I was told, but only to buy myself some time. There had to be a way to save her if nothing else. A way out of this. The gods couldn’t possibly have led us here just to have everything come crumbling down around us, could they?
A whimper from my wife made me lift my head, and I found that she was still in Lysander’s grasp. His arms held her as he pressed his face against hers, whispering things I couldn’t hear but knew instinctively would make me want to rip him limb from limb.
“I will kill you!” Emori’s voice rang through the air before I had a chance to say a thing.
Lysander, still holding Indra, looked her way, as did his mother.
“You care what happens to this woman?” Saffron asked, her gray eyes looking suddenly darker than ever. “You brought her here. She cut you.”
“I came to kill him,” Emori hissed, fighting against Dag but making no progress.
“Me?” Lysander looked at the woman like he’d never seen her before.
“You will die for the things you’ve done to me,” Emori said in a low, menacing voice.
Lysander looked her over, his gaze moving up and down like he was trying to figure her out. “I’ve never seen you before in my life.”
For the first time since I set foot in the room, Emori stopped fighting. Her mouth fell open and she blinked, confusion clouding her vision. Silence settled over the room, but it was short-lived, because it was followed by a wail from Emori that seemed loud enough to shake the walls.
Her efforts to break free doubled. She snarled and screamed names at Lysander, who continued to stare back at her blankly.
“Really,” Saffron said with a sigh.
She swiped the electroprod up off the mantel and crossed the room where she pressed the tip of the device to Emori’s stomach, barely giving Dag enough time to release the Outlier woman. Emori went down, wailing louder than ever, but in seconds the sounds of agony had died away and she was left twitching on the floor.
Saffron turned her back on Emori. “Outliers are always so dramatic.”
Lysander’s focus had turned back to my wife, the other woman forgotten completely even as she still writhed in agony. He had a hand on Indra’s neck, holding her in place as he ran his other hand down her cheek.
“Release her,” I growled.
Saffron frowned at her son. “I didn’t bring her here for you, Lysander. She’s to be made an example of. Tomorrow at the gathering.”
His grip on Indra tightened until she winced. “There’s time.”
“Not for that,” Saffron snapped.
“You can have her,” Lysander said, “you can have them both, but I get my revenge, too. She stabbed me!”
His mother exhaled, blowing out a long breath as she thought it through. “Seeing her die in the square won’t be enough for you?” She almost sounded bored.
“She nearly killed me!”
His mother sighed again then turned her back to her son. “Fine. Honestly, I don’t understand men.”
Lysander once again turned his gaze on Indra, this time grinning down at her in triumph. “I’m going to make you scream.”
Indra tried to back away, but his grip was too tight. She had nowhere to go, no way to escape as Lysander grabbed at her clothes. Within seconds, her shirt was on the floor, and when she cried out, it felt like a knife was slicing me in half.
Greer still had his knee on my back, pressing against my spine, but he was distracted. Watching Lysander instead of me. The throb of electricity still flowed through my veins, but I felt something else as well. Adrenaline. Felt it coursing through me, growing stronger with each cry Indra let out, pushing the pain deeper until it was barely noticeable. Greer shifted, his knee sliding further down my back and freeing me just enough that I was able to twist my body so I could grab his leg and pull him forward.
He went down with a thud, and I was on my feet, running. My focus was on Lysander, who had his back to me and was too absorbed by Indra. He never saw me. Didn’t know I was there until my fist had slammed into the side of his face.
The pudgy man went down, a heap of sweat and fat, and I kicked him. Once. Twice. Three times. There was a scuffle at my back, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before I was down, too, but I didn’t care, not when I had this sick, pathetic excuse of a man at my mercy.
Someone tackled me, sending me flying. I hit the ground but twisted and kicked. A grunt followed, and then another as my fist made contact with a face. The crunch of bone seemed loud in my ears, but it was a satisfying sound. As was the sight of the blood splattered on the wood floor.
“Move away!” Saffron shouted.
The men moved away from me, and I twisted, trying to get to my feet. Before I could, an electroprod was shoved against my back. The current was stronger than ever, and it dropped me in a second. It didn’t stop like before, but continued, over and over, the electricity flowing through me. The edges of my vision went black, and even though I knew if I passed out Indra would be alone, I begged for the darkness to take me.
20
Indra
Asa was on the ground, his body convulsing as Saffron held the electroprod to his back. I stumbled toward him, nearly tripping over Lysander’s crumbled body, desperate to do something but knowing I was no match for these people on my own.
“Indra,” Emori hissed, pulling my attention her way.
She was still on the ground after her own shock, and she was alone. As was I. The Fortis guards stood over Asa, watching as he writhed, either forgetting Emori and I existed or thinking we were no real threat.
They were wrong.
I nodded, and Emori copied me, and that one small gesture was all it took to once again solidify us as allies. At least for now.
We struck together, Emori running forward, letting out a scream as she propelled herself onto the back of the man who had dragged her into the city. I barely saw it when she bared her teeth, barely registered when she pulled the man’s head back, bit down on his neck, and his blood sprayed across the room.
My focus was on Greer. I slammed my foot into the back of his leg, sending him to his knees. Once he was down, I was on him, my hands scrambling for the knife he had strapped to his lower leg. He brought his elbow up, trying to knock me back, but I was too fast. Too focused on my goal.
My fingers were already wrapped around the knife when he managed to dislodge me. I had known it would happen—he was more than twice my size—and I was ready for it. The knife went with me, and the second I hit the ground I rolled onto my back, knowing Greer would strike. He did, just as I had thought he would, and just like I had hoped, he was totally unprepared. He had no idea I was armed until he leaned down to grab me and the blade of his knife sank into his neck.
The Fortis man’s eyes grew wide. Shock. Pain. Fear. All three emotions swirled through them as he grasped at his throat, trying to stop the flow of blood. He managed to get the knife free, but the blood only poured out faster. The weapon clattered to the floor at my side, swiped up a moment later by Emori, and Greer stumbled back. He only made it two steps before dropping to the ground.
I was already rolling over, already getting to my feet. Emori was fighting with the third Fortis man, and Asa lay motionless at their feet. Saffron had moved deeper into the study, behind her favorite reading chair. Cornered. There was no way for her to escape the room without going by me.
For once, her gray eyes were not emotionless when she looked my way. They shimmered with fear. “You know you can’t escape the city. You may get out of this house, but you can’t get away.”
“Perhaps,” I said, taking a step closer to her, “but at least I will die knowing you have taken your last breath.”
I paused so I could kneel, never taking my eyes off her, and swiped the electroprod up off the floor.
“You dropped something,” I said when I straightened.
I had never held one of the devices before, but it was easy enough to use. It hummed to life with the simple push of a button, vibrating in my hand. I had expected the blue glow to be hot, but when I raised the weapon, it gave off no heat.
“Amazing how something so small can inflict so much pain.” I took a step closer to Saffron, smiling. “Have you ever felt it?” She said nothing as she pushed her back harder against the wall. “I did not think so.” I took another step. “The Sovereign like to think they are invincible, but you and I both know that is not true. Without this,” I waved the electroprod as I moved around the desk, closing in on her, “without your technology, you are helpless.”
“Your punishment will be worse if you do this, Indra.” Saffron’s voice shook as it never had before. “They will torture you.”
I closed the gap between us and lifted the electroprod until the tip of it had almost made contact with her stomach. She sucked in a breath, trying to make herself smaller, but there was no escape.
“You have already tortured me more than anyone ever could,” I said in a low voice. “I know you are not a stupid woman, so you must know that. You must know what you have done to me. To my people.”
“I didn’t set this world in motion,” she whispered, desperation ringing in her voice now.
“No,” I said, “you did not set this world in motion, but you helped keep it spinning.”
I shoved the tip of the electroprod against her stomach.
A scream ripped its way out of her. She fell to the ground, trembling. Shaking. I pressed the device against her side, and her body convulsed again, flopping like a fish out of water. This time, I did not pull it away, and the longer I held it there, the harder she jerked, almost like she was trying to escape. But I did not let up. Did not give in. The convulsions grew until her head was slamming against the wood floor, over and over again with a sickening thud. Her eyes rolled back and foamy blood seeped from between her lips, running down her cheeks and collecting beneath her. Still, I did not stop.
By the time I pulled the device away, smoke was rising from Saffron’s lifeless body. Her mouth hung open, gaping like the entrance to the tunnel Mira and I had crawled through to escape this city, her eyes open and lifeless, staring up at me. They looked no colder in death than they had in life.
“Indra.” Emori grabbed my arm, pulling me away from Saffron. “Your husba
nd.”
Asa.
I turned my back on Saffron, leaving her corpse to be discovered by her husband, and hurried to Asa’s side. He was conscious, but his body twitched as if the electricity were still running through him.
“Are you okay?” I whispered, running my hand down his cheek, down his arm, and over his chest so I could feel the thump of his heart against my palm.
“Don’t worry about me.” Asa’s expression tightened and his mouth twitched involuntarily, his eyes moving over my body and reminding me that I was nearly naked. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“Less than in the past,” I whispered.
Asa reached for my hand, his fingers curling around mine. “Where is he? Dead?”
I lifted my gaze from his so I could look the room over. Three bodies were heaped on the floor. Greer and the two other Fortis guards. No Lysander, though.
“Where did he go?” I asked, my gaze moving to Emori.
“Lysander?” She paused so she could spit, not so she could wait for my response. “Fled. Ran like a coward.”
Asa’s hand tightened around mine. “We need to go. He’ll bring help.”
I knew he was right, but I had no idea how we would escape the city. The tunnel was not an option, and we would never make it to the gate. They would be searching for us, guarding the exit so we could not escape.
There was another way, though.
“There is another gate.” I got to my feet, pulling Asa with me. “At the back of the city. We will head that way.”
It seemed to take a great deal of effort for him to stand, but he managed it. Once he was up, he leaned against the mantel while I collected the shirt Lysander had pulled from my body. After I had dressed, I returned to my husband’s side where I wrapped my arm around his waist, hoping my small frame would be enough to keep him from falling.