by Ciara Knight
“So do I,” I muttered.
He spun toward us, his mouth hanging open. “I…”
I stood firm. If there was one thing I’d learned being a princess, it was to never back down.
“I…you. Ugh.” He clutched his hair then swung his arms down to his side and stomped ahead.
I whispered to Raeth, “Was it something I said?”
She giggled, and I hoped for some crazy reason she forgave me for not saving her the first time we met. Finally, I had another friend.
Music filtered down from overhead as we turned down a new tunnel. Sulfuric smoke greeted us at a wooden doorway.
Raeth pressed it open and peered out. “It’s the c-cellar. We’re f-fine, come on.”
I ran my hand down the rough, wooden wall trying to find an illuminator.
A door flew open at the top of the stairs. “Come on woman. Get yourself down here and work off that drink I just bought ya.” A man’s voice traveled down before his steps. The general’s voice.
No, I’m just imagining it.
A woman giggled and we ducked behind several barrels. “It’ll cost you fifteen mecha.”
My head swarmed with the proximity of my demise. I slid and fell with a thud against the wooden floor.
“Who’s there?” The general stopped at the last step and peered around the dark cellar.
The broad shouldered, disheveled man stumbled toward us. He drew his weapon in his right hand while still clutching a bottle in his other, and walked straight toward us. My head swarmed with possibilities.
Could we overpower him? No, we’d never survive against the gun.
Raeth sat beside Ryder covering her ears with her hands and her eyes squeezed shut, rocking back and forth.
What was wrong with her?
The general stumbled forward. The bottle dropped from his hand and clanked to the floor. It rolled to my side. The dirty label read, Verillian Juice.
“Ten mecha, no more,” The general yelled.
I wanted to scream and run. I’d rather take on a thousand guards than feel his touch against my skin again.
The woman of the night glanced around the room. “You sure it’s safe? I hear Neumarians run this joint.”
“No parasite would dare show themselves around me. Get yourself down here and take care of business.”
I peeked between the barrels. Each breath stung as it entered my tight lungs. The sight of the general churned my stomach.
The woman reached the bottom step. “Fifteen.”
He lifted her onto a barrel only a couple meters away. “Twelve.”
“Well, aren’t you the strong one,” she giggled. “Deal.”
He ripped the ties from her corset and tossed his belt to the side. It thudded against the packed earth. “Now, we can have some fun.”
I stared at the gun, only a few steps away. Could I reach it without being noticed?
Ryder shook his head. I leaned back into the darkness and covered my ears. He ran his hand down my upper arm and stared straight into my eyes. A trail of frosty pleasure soothed my raw nerves.
The upstairs door creaked open. “General, sir, um, some guards found the princess. The queen has new orders.”
“I’m busy.”
“Sir, the queen is requesting you lead the search immediately. They have her below ground. Trapped with no way out. She doesn’t know how long before the parasites murder her.”
“Go on, get. We’ll finish this later.”
I heard the click of his belt and footsteps pounding up the stairs. I let out a long breath.
“You okay?” Ryder asked before he slouched over Raeth and rubbed her shoulder. She lay on the floor curled into a ball.
“Yeah, fine.” I shuddered at the general’s lingering scent of oil and spirits.
Raeth sat up but still rocked back and forth.
“What’s wrong?”
“She’s checked out again. Raeth, come on. You need to get a grip on this. No time to be wasting ‘round here.”
“To think, if I’d stayed on board, he would have—” Every muscle in my body tightened with the image.
“Y-you w-won’t have to now.” Raeth stood up with Ryder’s help. She still shuffled back and forth with agitation, but she lifted her head with a faint grin.
“Have to what?” Ryder steadied her before checking the stairwell.
I opened my mouth to answer but couldn’t say it out loud.
Raeth shuffled over and locked her arm through mine. “M-marry him. Q-queen p-promised the general on her n-next b-birthday.”
“How did you know?”
“I hear th-things in the saloon.”
We moved under the illuminator at the bottom of the stairs and listened to the ruckus above. A woman’s soulful song meandered down with words about heartache and loss. Something everyone could relate to.
Ryder grabbed the handrail and eased up the stairs. The strong engine fume-like scent became overpowering when we exited the cellar into a small, back room. We maneuvered around to another stairwell.
“Move it.”
We followed him up another set of stairs and walked along a railing that overlooked the main dining area of the hotel. People ate at the tables. Others sitting in a lounge smoked out of spherical glass bowls. The room began to spin. My stomach churned and threatened to spill its contents, if there was any. I couldn’t remember the last time I ate.
My feet wobbled beneath me and Ryder caught my elbow. We went to a room at the end of the hall. I heard myself giggle uncontrollably.
He helped me onto a bed against the wall. “It’s the Arvenati smoke. You’ve never been exposed, so you’ve got low tolerance.”
“Low tolerance. Ha. She’s s-snorked. H-how long do you th-think it’ll last?”
Their voices sounded as if they were speaking through a long tube, their faces looking stretched and flattened. I blinked. Acid rose. I lunged forward and spewed into a round pot.
Strong hands grasped my arms and helped me sit back up. Ryder stroked my hair. “You’ll be fine now.”
The room moved like an accordion-machine waving in and out. But after a moment, the room only shimmied and blurred with a slight yellow hue. “This is because of Arvenati smoke?”
“Yeah. You’ll be swaying and have a mite headache for a bit, but you’ll be fine.”
“I’ve never heard of it. Is this a Neumarian thing?”
“Guards partake quite a bit. It’s a chemical waste from the uranium mine. You’ll be fine after a couple more exposures. Body needs to build up tolerance.”
At two slow knocks, followed by one, then a pause and three more rapid ones, Raeth opened the door. “Uncle.”
I thought I saw Ryder glare at Raeth, or maybe it was the smoke still playing with my head. I didn’t care as long as he remained by my side on the thin mattress with his arm wrapped around me so I wouldn’t topple over.
Fallon halted by the door. “Nevesen bog.”
Great, more Neumarian talk, as if my head wasn’t spinning enough already.
The tall man clicked the door behind him. “Hi.” He started toward me but glanced at Ryder and Raeth. “Where’s your collars?”
Raeth smiled. “S-semara removed it. Sh-She’s got Neumarian gift to m-melt metal.”
Fallon dropped his load of supplies on the small wooden desk. “Interesting.”
I didn’t know how I felt about Raeth sharing my secret with her uncle, but there wasn’t much I could say about it now.
Raeth rummaged through the supplies, “Now we look human like you.”
Ryder grunted. “Never told us how you managed to avoid being collared.”
Fallon’s lip curved up into a knowing grin. “You guys look awful. How’d you escape from below? The entire town shook and then dust came through the hall like a typhoon.”
Raeth stood tall with a proud smile.
“Whoa, you did that?” Fallon sat on the corner of the desk and rubbed his chin. “But how?” He glanced at
her leg, then back at her face with brows furrowed.
“Don’t know. Been p-practicing, but the bugger didn’t get in the w-way this time. It felt like my mind routed the current down one side of my leg and b-back up the other. Kind of c-crazy, huh?”
“Yeah, but wow. If it worked for you, then—”
“Don’t be jumping ahead there, Uncle.” Ryder stood.
The bed rocked. I grasped the metal frame and blinked to stop the world from moving.
The vein on the side of Ryder’s temple bulged slightly. “There ain’t no way any of our people are going to agree. And even if they did, where’d we get the parts. You forget how much Raeth was ostracized by our people because of that damn Slag appendage.”
I stumbled across the room, but after a few steps found my footing. Most of the smoke’s effects had faded, except my balance, which was still a little skewed. “What’re you guys talking about?”
“There are many of us the Slags have tortured and maimed. Even now, to get information they’ll remove limbs,” Fallon said in a solemn tone.
My head throbbed from not only the aftereffects of the smoke but the memory of Raeth’s torture. Tears welled in my eyes and I fought them back. It was obvious Raeth hadn’t mentioned what happened between us on the queen’s ship. I needed to get her alone and learn the reason before I messed up.
“That’s awful,” was all I could manage without tears.
“Queen enacted a law after the war, The Neumarian Enslavement Act. It declared anyone believed to have an affiliation to a terrorist cell could be incarcerated for questioning without proof. No trial date has to be set. They can rot in confinement forever or be tortured for information they don’t have.” Ryder paced the floor, his voice deep and tormented.
“I had no idea.” My heart twisted with the half lie, but how could I tell the truth. Ryder’s narrowed eyes spoke volumes. He’d never understand.
“No offense, Princess, but you seem to have lived in your own little world.”
“Don’t call me that. My name’s Semara.”
Fallon scrubbed his face, his salt and pepper scruff moving up-and-down. “She’s right. You guys need to think about new names and identities. No way you can get around here looking like that.”
Ryder shoved his hands in his pocket and paced. “Even with a new face, we’d never manage to hide. Sure there’s a mighty big price on our heads.”
Fallon cleared his throat. “Bendar said there’s a rumor of a resistance across the ocean.”
“Bendar? You know, Bendar?”
“Yes, child.”
I blinked rapidly. “He was my best friend, my protector. Now…” How I missed his little tapping feet. If only I could’ve brought him with me.
As the sounds of horses snorting and ships revving permeated the room, I realized life continued whether I was princess or slave, alive or dead.
Ryder paused at the window, turned, and glared at his uncle. “Across the ocean? Are you insane? That might as well be in a different world.”
Fallon stood. “Listen for a second. I know there are obstacles—”
Raeth rolled her eyes and rummaged through the supplies. “Obstacles? R-really, Uncle?”
“Yes, but there are ways to cross the sand,” Fallon insisted.
Ryder glowered at Fallon. “Without a ship, we’d be sermechtapede food—”
“Okay, okay, I get the picture. So we’ll appropriate a ship.”
At Fallon’s suggestion, my mind raced with possible options. “I know where we can get one. Before the queen’s ship takes off, Scouters go out to check the area. We could steal one of those.”
Ryder gave a crooked smile. “Great, the princess has gone scavenger on us.”
“I told you not to call me that.”
“L-let her finish.”
“They’re not well armed. With our powers, we could take it easily.”
“What happens when the ship doesn’t return?” Ryder asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“It helps us.”
Ryder opened his mouth, but Raeth cut him off. “Wh-what do you m-mean?”
“We’ll steal the scout ship that heads in the direction we want to go.”
Ryder slapped his hands to his thighs. “Oh brilliant! Why don’t you announce where were going—”
“They won’t follow.” Fallon’s face lit up. “They’ll go the opposite direction.”
“Right. You see, Mother doesn’t take any chances. Scouts go out more to see if they come back. If not, they know something is out there they would prefer to avoid. We might capture two going in different directions.”
“Let’s stick to getting one. Also, the queen knows she’s not immune to the animals of the Wasteland,” Fallon added.
“Yes, and she also has more than Neumarian enemies. Scavengers, foreign terrorists—”
“So we take the ship and go?” Ryder asked.
“Not that simple. These are short-range ships with little space. With our extra weight, the fuel won’t last long enough for us to reach the coast. Even if we get there, I’m not sure how we would cross. The ship isn’t meant to handle the wind over the ocean. We’d crash within a few hundred meters of shore.”
“Don’t worry about ocean transport. I’ve got that covered,” Fallon reassured us. “Just capture that ship and get to the ocean.”
“Right now we can’t even make it down the stairs.” Ryder turned back from the window. “There must be two dozen guards outside the hotel. Of course, half of them are drunk.”
“N-no worries brother. Uncle has b-brought gifts.” Raeth held up silver dye, scissors, and some robes.
“No way,” Ryder protested.
Raeth smiled, a real white-teeth baring grin. “It’s th-the only way to escape.”
I glanced between them. “What?”
“Not going to be a human temple worshiper,” Ryder growled.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Why? It’s sacrilegious to our people. The queen’s manmade religion is an abomination to Neumarians.”
“You mean there’s another religion?”
“Yes-no, there’s another way of life. But I’m not getting into it right now.” He held up a robe and twisted his mouth in disgust. “As for wearing these—”
“You have no choice. If you can reach the rebellion and help build their forces, some day we could all be free again,” Fallon said in a voice that brooked no argument.
“You speak of war.” No matter how evil Mother was, the thought of betraying and murdering her seemed wrong. “Even if they weren’t really—”
Ryder crossed the room in two steps. “War? Slags murder, steal, enslave my people. We only wish for freedom.”
Fallon waved his hand at us. “Shh, a bunch of guards came in the building.”
I raced to the door and peered out between Raeth and Fallon. Ryder squeezed in above us, hand clutching the molding around the door.
Not just guards poured into the hotel, but three hunters entered as well. They sniffed the air and snarled, barring their canines. I’d only seen a hunter once, its white coat covered in blood after it caught an intruder on the ship.
“What are th-those things?” Raeth whispered.
I grasped her hand. “You don’t want to know.”
Chapter Six
“Sit still. The fume from the dye will only throw the hunters off for a short time.” Raking my nail along Ryder’s scalp, I yanked his hair a little harder than necessary to divide another section. His hair was soft despite the bits of sand which were to be expected in the Mining Territory.
“I saw them down in that ther’ cellar,” a woman yelled from the restaurant below.
Ryder squirmed. “Only a matter of time before they begin searching upstairs.”
The last squirt of dye echoed as if blasters fired in the room. “At least they still believe we’re wearing the collars. That should keep them below ground for a while.”
“W-we need to hurry. Won
’t t-take long for them to check here. D-don’t want Uncle p-punished.”
“Punished?” No, I couldn’t bring that upon their uncle.
Ryder bolted from the edge of the bed to pace the room, before he sat on the edge of a chair and stared at the door. “Room we’re in is for high-ranking officials. No guards will enter without cause. Not until they become suspicious. Which won’t take long after the hunters catch our scent.”
Emotions swirled inside me. This was all happening because Mother wanted me back. How far would she go to capture and force me into slavery? I glanced at Ryder as he flopped onto the bed, his expression solemn. “Ryder? Why did you save me? What keeps you from turning me over to the hunters downstairs now?”
His forehead crinkled. “Don’t paint me as a hero. The only thing that kept me from turning you over is my sister.”
His words mimicked the laser, searing my skin to my heart. Swallowing the lump rising in my throat, I turned to look at the clock resting on the table. No way would I shed a tear in front of this heartless jerk.
Raeth thumped toward me. “Semara, he doesn’t mean—”
I refused her excuses. The facts were clear. Her brother would happily turn me over or kill me himself if he discovered my part in Raeth’s torture. “Why did you save me?” The words blurted from my mouth before I could stop them.
Ryder huffed. “Raeth threatened to save you herself if I didn’t go. Had no choice. Uncle thinks you can help with the rebellion. I think you’re just a spoiled princess.”
“It’s time.” I yanked his head back over a bucket, took a water pitcher and dumped the liquid over his head. He could believe what he wanted to. I didn’t care.
A blaster fired, followed by sounds of a struggle. Ryder bolted upright, spilling water all over the floor.
“Please, don’t hurt me. I have—”
“Shut up, whore.”
The woman continued to plea for her life, until another blast sounded. Then nothing but deafening silence.
We needed to get out of there before more blood stained my hands. I snatched the towel from my head and rubbed the ends of my hair. It would be hours before the long strands would dry. Eyeing the scissors on the desk, a wicked thought crossed my mind. For the first time in four years defiance took hold. I gathered my hair in one hand, snatched the scissors from the desk and leaned over the bucket. In two cuts the heavy mane fell in a pile.