“You think you’re so righteous,” Pete fumed, glaring accusingly into her eyes. “If you’d just stop judgin’ him for a second, you’d realize he’s a better person than your pretty Prince will ever be.”
“Whatever,” Kiara sighed, feeling bad enough as it was. “Good or not, if we don’t do something fast, Rio and Suriel will both be dead.”
“I won’t let that happen,” Pete said, his eyebrows narrowing with determination. He typed a few lines of code onto his encoder. “You’re gonna help me trap it.”
“How?”
“We’ll draw it here, then slip out and trap it in this room. I doubt it’ll suspect I can lock it from the outside.”
“Can you?” Kiara asked nervously.
“One way to find out.”
Pete hit a button on his encoder, and the door swung open. They stepped outside to see Suriel grappling with the Decrepit on the floor, his amulet glowing, with multiple gashes and burns across his body. Rio remained at the top of the staircase where he’d been hit. Pete stepped to the side of the doorway within reach of the open door, while Kiara stood at the entrance.
“Hey, you!” Kiara yelled challengingly, forming another fireball in her hands. “Still want my soul?”
Kiara threw the fireball at the Decrepit, striking it in the back. The creature shrieked and charged wildly in their direction, focused on Kiara. She darted back into the room and swung around, pressing herself against the wall beside the entrance, hidden from view. Just as the Decrepit barged in, Kiara released a flume of fire at the creature’s back and then dove out of the room. Pete slammed the door shut, not a second after she emerged, and pressed down on his encoder, locking it. The Decrepit banged against the door, shrieking, but it wouldn’t budge.
“It worked!” Kiara exclaimed, panting.
“For now,” Pete replied, running up the stairs towards Rio. “But who knows how long it’ll hold. Let’s get out’a here.” Rio grunted painfully as Pete helped him to his feet. Meanwhile, Kiara went to check on Suriel.
“You alright?” she asked, offering him a hand.
“Yes, thanks to you,” Suriel smiled gratefully as she helped him up.
“Don’t thank me,” Kiara frowned. “I almost killed Rio while he was trying to save your life.”
“You didn’t see the creature,” Suriel said, trying to console her guilt. “None of us did.”
“Rio did,” Kiara answered with a sigh. She watched as Pete supported Rio down the stairs, his arm beneath his shoulder. Rio glared at her, his gaze silent, but thick with dismay. As they grew closer, Kiara approached him to apologize.
“Rio, I’m-”
“Save it, girl,” Rio snapped, then looked away. Kiara stood silently for a moment, then continued to descend with a heavy heart.
The group moved down the chamber as quickly as their injuries allowed, trying not to get separated again in the misty darkness. After a while, Suriel shifted in to support Rio as, despite his own injuries, Suriel’s immense physical strength was far superior to Pete’s scrawny, thin build. As they journeyed onwards, nobody spoke.
Kiara trudged down the flooded staircase with her head low, lost in thought.
Maybe Pete was right. Maybe I was too quick to judge. Heck, I’ve known them basically as long as I’ve known the Prince. How come I’m so quick to trust him? Because he’s gorgeous? Am I really that shallow?
“Hey,” Pete called from beside her, pulling her out from the clouds.
“Hey,” Kiara answered, looking up. “How is he?”
“He’s doing okay,” Pete said. “But he’s pissed.”
“Yeah,” Kiara sighed. “You think he’ll ever talk to me again?”
“Do you care?” Pete asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I do.”
“Well then, he will. Eventually.”
Pete’s words brought Kiara a bit of comfort.
“I can see you two are very close,” Kiara said, trying to learn more about them. “How do you know each other?”
Pete sighed and gazed into the distance as if recalling a distant memory.
“We both grew up in the Dinges. You out’a towners don’t really hear about ‘em. It’s all hushed up, but that’s the place the King sticks all the fellows he doesn’t want roamin’ ‘round his Capital.”
“It’s a prison?” Kiara asked.
“Not officially,” Pete answered. “But it sure feels like one. There are guards stationed all ’round town, makin’ sure nobody gets out. It’s dirty, smelly, and crowded. Most apartments have five or six families squished together, with only four bedrooms. I was a lucky one. I only had to share a bed with three other boys.”
“I can’t believe a place like that exists in the Kingdom,” Kiara said, shocked by what she was hearing. “It sounds terrible.”
“Oh, it’s much worse than terrible,” Pete continued. “We have no access to schools, hospitals, or even PDs, and there’s very little work. Every man’s gotta fend for himself and for his family, if he’s stupid enough to start one. Most kids end up joinin’ gangs, which is what I did. We did whatever it took to stay alive—Stealin’, beatin’, and sometimes even killin’. Truth is,” Pete chuckled, “first time I met Rio, that’s exactly what I was supposed to do. Kill him.”
“What happened?” Kiara asked, her curiosity peaked.
“Word got out there was a man with access to the outside. Our gang leader, Tor, heard that some old, lazy-eyed chap named Rio had brokered a deal with one of the guards, trading women and slaves for weapons. So we planned to hit his supply and become the alpha gang in the Dinges. Now, it wasn’t gonna be easy. Rio had a strong encampment in the Dinges, with lots’a loyal followers. But we heard that he had a soft spot for kids, always lettin’ them through, ‘cause children made easy slaves. So Tor picked out the freshest of the crew, myself included, for the job. I was the youngest of ‘em all, so he gave me a special mission. He said in order to prove my loyalty, I had to kill Rio myself, my first kill. He said that if after the mission he got word that Rio was still breathin’, he’d make sure I wasn’t.”
“So you ran?” Kiara asked with anticipation. Pete had a way with stories, and Kiara was fully engrossed.
“You’re jumpin’ too fast,” Pete said. “Hold on. I’m no runner, lady. I went in to do my duty. We snuck in together after dark, about twelve of us, with a group of other kids. Apparently, they were all goin’ to Rio’s place, so we followed ‘em. Soon as we got there, me and my crew made a lotta noise and started breakin’ things, scarin’ the other kids away. We told ‘em if they warned Rio’s goons, we’d hunt ‘em down. Afterward, I used my encoder to break inside. Somehow, Rio had an entire apartment to himself, like some sort’a king. I remember it like yesterday—him sittin’ on the sofa, munchin’ on some crackers. Nobody had sofas, and I mean nobody. It made me sick. I wanted to see that spoiled, lazy-eyed face pounded to the ground. And that’s exactly what we did. We beat him to a pulp, interrogated him, ripped up that soft, pretty sofa. But no matter how hard we pressed, that stubborn bastard wouldn’t tell us where he kept the weapons. Eventually, Rio’s goons got suspicious, and we had to get out’a there, so the crew left me to finish the job.”
“But you couldn’t do it,” Kiara butt in.
“Damn right, I couldn’t,” Pete agreed. “That madman just stared at me from the floor, all black and bloody, and you know what he said to me? He said, ‘Now that we’re alone, I can finally show you where I keep the weapons.’ You know,” Pete chuckled, “As if he’d had it all planned out. And I’m standin’ there, a blaster pointed right at his face, my hands shakin’, and he’s calm as a blockhead on nexatine. So he says, ‘Bring me my teacup,’ and I bring it. Next, he says, ‘Push the small button on the inner rim of the handle.’ But this time, I say, ‘How do I know this won’t signal your people?’ And he says back to me, ‘You are all my people.’ You know?” Pete chuckled again, shaking his head. “Like some goddamn saint. So I pressed the button, and a ha
tch opened up on the floor. Only, when I bent over to look, I didn’t find any weapons. I found medicine. Apparently, Rio and his gang had been trading all the goods they could muster to supply medicines to the children.”
“Wow,” Kiara muttered in awe, glancing around at Rio. She couldn’t believe that the same man she’d just struck with a fireball was the same one from the story. When she looked at him now, he didn’t seem so dubious or vile. He seemed like a person, with a heart and a soul.
“So, what happened after that?” Kiara asked.
“After seein’ the truth, I couldn’t bring myself to kill the old fool. I called his people to help him, and before I knew it, he took me under his wing, and his people became my people too. I owe that man my life, among other things.”
“I can’t believe I did this to him. I didn’t know,” Kiara said, feeling terrible.
“You didn’t ask,” Pete shrugged.
“Hey, Pete,” Rio called out with a raspy voice, interrupting their conversation. The two of them turned towards Suriel and Rio. “I remember this chamber now. I’m sure of it. This is where they usually took us after the mines to get fed.”
“Yeah…” Pete said, his eyebrows narrowing. “Yeah, I think you’re right. The Decrepit would lead us up these stairs with the rest of the prisoners into one of the rooms along the wall, just like they did when we tried to, you know,” he gulped, looking from Kiara to Suriel. “Eat you two.”
“But why did they bring you to that other room this time, across the whole passageway we crossed?” Kiara asked.
“Who knows,” Pete answered. “Maybe they figured our special guest over here deserved the royal treatment,” he said, motioning towards Suriel.
“Actually, you might not be wrong,” Suriel chimed in. He gazed around the chamber at the various statues and side rooms. “I think the first room we were in belonged to Mikael.”
“The King of Angels?” Rio asked, intrigued. “Now, what would draw you to that conclusion?”
“I noticed that every angel sculpture we passed by was unique. I think that each of these rooms belonged to a specific angel, denoted by the statue in front.”
“Still,” Rio responded. “Why would Mikael’s room be separate? And why would a holy angel have such a simple, empty bedroom?”
“Angels have no need for physical pleasures, or even sleep,” Suriel explained. “And it’s only logical for the king of angels to reside above his inferiors.”
“Spoken like a true prince,” Rio scoffed.
“Don’t forget that this Prince is carrying you, and can very easily slip,” Suriel jabbed back, rolling his eyes.
“Hey, guys,” Kiara interrupted with excitement as she turned another bend of the spiral staircase, a bit ahead of everyone else. “I think we’ve reached the end.”
“That we’ve reached the end is doubtful,” Rio muttered as he and Suriel caught up from behind. “The beginning of the next struggle, perhaps. Unless, of course, you are referring to our own ends, in which case I surely hope you are mistaken.”
All caught up, the group found themselves on a platform similar to the one at the top of the chamber. A single, hefty, iron door waited on the wall opposite the waterfall. Before heading for the door, Kiara walked carefully over to the waterfall in the middle of the chamber and gazed down, still unable to see the end. The water just poured down from the heavens into an endless void of darkness. The thought sent a shiver down her spine.
“It’s open,” Pete called from the doorway. He opened the door, and light shined in from the other side, casting glowing yellow rays across the thick mist. Rio stood beside him, holding onto the wall for support.
Kiara felt a warm, steady hand on her shoulder, pulling her out from her dark thoughts.
“Come on,” Suriel said, smiling comfortingly. “Let’s go.”
Kiara turned around and looked at him, using his calming, familiar gaze to ease a few of her fears. Then she took his hand and followed him after the others, crossing over into the light.
Chapter Nine
The Deserted Village
6 days before planet’s destruction
Mara watched Raiden’s impatient facial expressions with amusement as he argued with an older villager a couple of strides away, the fifth one to approach him in the past ten minutes. Finally, after another round of back and forth, the man stormed away in frustration.
“What’d he want?” Mara asked as Raiden stomped back over to her. They led the group along with Ferrus, who never left Mara’s side. Ferrus meticulously eyed down anyone who came close to Mara, Raiden included.
“Says he’s out of food already,” Raiden complained. “They’re driving me crazy. I saved their lives, and now they’re taking my sanity.”
“This was your idea, not mine,” Mara replied indifferently, wanting no part of it. “Your problem.”
“Gee, thanks,” Raiden sighed. He looked back at the vast sea of six-hundred heads and one hundred pygmies straggling behind him. They were a complete mess. Each family had taken with them everything they could carry, or rather, everything they thought they could carry. Clothes and papers rippled across the fading, blue sky, riding the heavy evening breeze. Fruits and vegetables toppled out of hastily fastened baskets on pgymies’ backs, rolling down the dirt-paved trail or disappearing behind the thick, tall grass of the surrounding fields. The families sent their children to give chase, clumsily bumping through the crowd, spurring angry protests. Worse than the mess was their pace. In twenty-four hours, they had hardly moved ten kilometers. Everyone had something to complain about, whether it was an injury, hunger, thirst, or a hole in their tent, and Raiden was the only address.
“At this speed, it would take us at least another week to reach the River Crossing, then another few days to cross the Wildlands and reach the Capital,” Mara said bitterly. “Assuming we are able to procure faster means of transportation and drop off our swarm in the city of Balron.”
“You sure that’s the right route? Can you just run me through the geography one more time?” Raiden asked reluctantly, slightly embarrassed that he’d forgotten.
“Yes, but pay attention this time. I do not like to repeat myself,” Mara scolded. “As you are aware, the Kingdom of the White Order spans this entire continent, all ten-million square-kilometers of it.”
“The only area the King doesn’t rule over is the planet’s dark side, where nobody lives anyway,” Raiden added.
“Correct,” Mara continued. “Now, Agion, the capital, lies at the very edge of the Kingdom, bordering the dark side on its eastern border. The Aloar River runs perpendicular to Agion through the Wildlands, separating its northern and southern districts, until meeting the Bezadus River. The city of Balron is the second-largest city after the Capital, built at the River Crossing. Hopefully, the villagers will be safe there.”
“And then west of the Wildlands are all the outlying villages, like Ankar,” Raiden finished, understanding better this time. “So once we get to where the Bezadus and Aloar meet, we can just follow the Aloar through the Wildlands to the Capital.”
“Precisely,” Mara confirmed. “Fortunately, Ankar is not too far from the wildlands. However, at this pace, I do not know if we shall ever reach the Crossing.”
“You think there’s a way we can move faster?” Raiden asked Mara, desperate for ideas.
“Yes,” Mara replied simply. “I could steal your amulet and go to the Capital myself.”
Raiden chuckled in annoyance, then tensed in surprise when he noticed Ferrus’s hands reach for her massive blade.
“It was a joke, Ferrus,” Mara said, placing a reassuring hand on the giant woman’s arm. “For now,” she added, shooting Raiden an unsettling glare.
“You know, you’re really not what I expected you to be,” Raiden said.
“Is that so?” Mara asked with an uninterested tone.
“Your brother values life more than almost anyone I’ve ever met,” Raiden explained. “I’ve never see
n someone care for his people the way he does. And he claims to have learned it from you.”
Mara stopped in her tracks and turned to face Raiden, an offended, angry look on her face.
“Do not attempt to use my brother to twist my emotions,” she snapped. “Of course, I care about these people. Of course, I would rather they lived. I stood by you in the village, did I not?”
“Then help me,” Raiden pleaded, raising his voice to match her own. “Give me some support, some ideas!”
Mara sighed. “Fine, you want an idea? These people just experienced the most horrific event of their lives, were forced from their homes, and are seeing reality for the first time without their PDs. If you want them to move faster, find a way to stop their crying. Give them hope, and they will find strength.”
“I’ve been trying,” Raiden insisted. “I can’t be there for every single one of them.”
“Then inspire someone who can,” Mara said, motioning towards Kaiyu, who walked somberly at the front of the crowd, his head drooped. Sable strolled beside him in her feline form, talking and trying to comfort him. In her hands, she held a small baby.
Raiden nodded understandingly at Mara, then jogged over to Sable and Kaiyu. Sable noticed him approaching and pranced forward to meet him halfway.
“Any news?” She asked, rocking the baby back and forth.
“Not since the last time we talked. We’re still two weeks from Balron, and moving very slow.” Raiden exhaled deeply. He looked down at the thin, pale, black-haired baby boy in Sable’s arms. The child looked so innocent and calm, his eyes closed, his body relaxed.
“That’s the kid you saved during the attack?” Raiden asked, recognizing the baby.
“Yup,” Sable sighed. “I couldn’t find any relatives.”
“How have you been feeding it?”
“I found a few women that had recently given birth, and they’ve been helping out. He’s been pretty easy though, doesn’t make too much trouble.”
“Well, that’s good to hear, because the other five-hundred and ninety-nine of them are driving me nuts,” Raiden quipped. “That’s why I’m here, actually. I was hoping Kaiyu could help out with the morale.”
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