“No need to give me false hope, mate.” Rangit stepped onto the gray gravel. The wind blew hard, dusting up black volcanic dirt. Nothing grew here. It was a barren area, exposed to the elements which took revenge on anything living that came this way. “I know I won’t be coming back.”
You don’t know that. The rabbit shifted uneasy.
“No need to sugar-coat things for me. I’m good enough at reading the Energy too.” He stepped away from the ship.
The rabbit sensed the heaviness inside of Rangit. It stirred the same emotions in himself. The unease didn’t sit right. The course had been set. This was a fixed point in time. They were where they were meant to be. The rabbit had read that much from the Energy. Small details didn’t matter so much. Not now that they were close to the end of their own lines.
A shame you weren’t properly trained and your skills weren’t used to help us all.
Rangit shrugged. “The game of life, hey. You work with what you’re dealt, and take what chances come your way.”
True. The rabbit’s fur stood on end, electrified from the Energy. He’d still set his own path. There was one person he wanted to help and he had to get to her.
“Which way?”
To the right. There’s a gap between the boulders. That’s our way in.
Rangit nodded and strode to where the rabbit indicated. He took a small torch from his pocket and squeezed between the stones.
Careful. The rabbit pressed into the rock. He breathed in trying to make himself smaller, but the rock still grated against him. His bruised body pulsed with a dull pain. Not much longer.
Rangit paused at the small entrance and switched on the torch. A triangle of light extended out, revealing gray rocks, dry and dusty that opened out into a cavern that extended downwards into darkness.
The rabbit’s fur stood on end. It’s been a while since I was last here. The memory was still painfully strong in his mind. The process she’d forced him to undergo. It was worth it.
He looked around the area. There was no sign that anyone had ever used this as a home, way back when there was still life around the castle, and the war hadn’t destroyed everything. They’d taken too much from the Energy, and the elements rebelled, taking the life around from them. The balance was disrupted here and it was going to take a miracle to reverse.
“I guess this way, then.” Rangit’s flat voice broke into the rabbit’s thoughts, bringing his awareness back to the present.
Just keep following this path down. There will be a few steps. When it flattens, we go to the right. Then it should be uphill.
“For how long?”
Hours. The rabbit twitched his nose. The dank air was low in oxygen, and chilled him. The smell brought back the memories. Old memories he’d long buried within his mind so that no one would know how he came to be able to use the Energy.
Rangit grunted and walked down into the dark mouth-like opening. The torch light revealed a narrow trail, rocked walls all around them. He moved quickly, and for that the rabbit was grateful. It will be best to get this over with.
The memories came thick into his mind. He could no longer stop the images forming and the old scenes playing out. He missed her. Triena’s mother. No one knew what she’d done to make him, what she’d risked to give him the ability to use the Energy. And it’d cost her. But, by then she’d given up her life.
Rangit jogged down the steps, taking them deeper into the mountain. The rabbit didn’t disturb him, just sat in the pack, looking out into the darkness, remembering things he’d rather forget.
The smell wafted towards them. “I guess that’s the way we go?” asked Rangit.
Yes. Uphill until we get there.
The scent of death surrounded them.
“What’s it from?” asked Rangit.
The readings. The rabbit shivered. The reading he’d managed to survive because of Triena’s mother. She’d taken him out, stolen him away, using this same path. Then he was wild, unable to comprehend what she was doing, thinking only he was going to die. But she’d helped him. Gave him a new life.
“What was she doing?” Rangit puffed heavily now. His heat radiated out making the rabbit feel twice as hot.
Who? He knew damn well what Rangit was asking. The rabbit strengthened the walls around his own thoughts.
“Shutting me out won’t help.” Rangit’s pace slowed.
The rabbit ignored him.
Rangit shrugged his shoulders and kept going, holding the light still in front of him, pushing himself forward. In some way, the rabbit was relieved. He wanted to get to the castle as soon as possible.
It happened without warning.
A single shot fired out and Rangit gasped, clutching his chest. The torch tumbled out of his hand, rolled away, casting its light into the earth.
Fuck the Queens, thought the rabbit. He was hoping that they’d make it to the castle without being seen. He didn’t think they knew about this place, other than to dump the carcasses of animals in the cavern next to the castle.
Rangit swayed. The rabbit braced himself. Everything slowed down. He got ready to jump out, but his foot slipped and he fell back inside the pack. Rangit tumbled to the ground, landing on his face.
The rabbit trembled inside the pack. He peeked out. Light caught his eyes, blinding him.
“Looks like we’ve also found a meal,” said a man.
“Great,” answered another. “I love fresh meat.”
The rabbit sat frozen. He felt Rangit’s essence seeping out of his body. His heart slowed.
Thank you, thought the rabbit.
Give them hell, answered Rangit. Then he was gone. The rabbit trembled at the sound of footsteps as a man approached him.
“We should tell them what we found.” A hand grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him roughly from the pack.
The rabbit kept still, frozen, except for his heart which pounded triple-time.
“Yeah, we should,” answered another man. “But I vote we don’t.”
The two men laughed. The rabbit couldn’t see them. Blinded by the light, held in the air, he hung at their mercy, kicking his legs in a pitiful attempt to escape.
“It’s got some life in it,” said the man holding the rabbit.
“He’ll be good eating then,” answered the other. “Put him away, and let’s get this body back to them.”
“Sure.” The man stuffed the rabbit into a different pack. One that stunk of sweat and decay and a hint of mould. The rabbit sat in the bottom cursing his luck. Whatever the Energy had in store for him, he was pretty sure it wasn’t to be eaten.
But, then that could be the reason why he hadn’t been able to see the future. Rangit was gone. So were the others. And soon he’d be too. I always thought there was a chance I’d end up in the pot.
Chapter 17
Braklen gasped with a mix of pain and relief as the nurse yanked the tubes from his arms. He hadn’t been given another dose. His mind was beginning to clear. “Steady on.”
She pressed her lips together and didn’t answer him. The nurse rested her hand on the straps, pausing as if re-thinking what she was about to do. “Come closer,” she said to the two guards. The men moved forward and stood on either side of the bed.
Braklen had felt the ship slow and the engines stop. He assumed they’d arrived at the Queens’ castle. That had been some hours ago, he thought. But he wasn’t sure. The drugs played with the fragments of his memory. The pieces were beginning to go back together but he wasn’t so sure that they were in the right positions.
Braklen sucked in air from the pain that shot through his arms. “Careful.”
They responded by holding him tighter. He held his breath.
The nurse started unbuckling the straps. Braklen wished he
were up to the task of fighting back. He was ready to give it a go. When they got him off the bed, his legs buckled. The guards hauled him up from the floor and his feet dragged across the tile as they took him from the room.
So much for fighting back. Braklen saw other Peacekeepers moving around the ship. He’d been to Earth so many times and knew the drill that the men would follow. So far, everything appeared normal. He’d hoped to see Triena, just a glimpse to see that she was all right. She can look after herself. But that wasn’t the point. He wanted to be near her. He was a different man with her by his side, despite their arguments.
“Where are you taking me?” Braklen asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
“Where a traitor to the army should be taken,” said one of the men.
If only they knew what was really going on. Braklen heard the disgust in the man’s voice. It wasn’t that long ago when I would’ve responded in the same way. Over the years Braklen had been responsible for taking men and women down to the catacombs of the castle. He knew the route very well, and this was the way that he was being taken.
What a turn of events.
The further they went, the darker and narrower the passageway became. Braklen’s skin prickled from the coolness surrounding him. His stomach twisted into tight knots. He knew what happened to those brought down here. They didn’t come out alive, but worse. They were torn apart by the Queens in hours of pain and torment.
I don’t want that. Braklen tried to struggle as the guards chained him to the wall but his muscles were weakened from lying down for so long and from the drugs he’d been given.
The two men didn’t have to exert themselves to keep him under control. They chained his arms at the wrists, above his head, at his feet and ankles. Braklen stood, arms and legs sprawled out.
“What a shame,” said one of the guards. “I looked up to you once.” He spat on Braklen before leaving.
Braklen didn’t know who spoke to him. He’d been a Peacekeeper on the rise and had a reputation. He’d led a few teams during the wars when the Queens came to power. The words spoken to him sank hard into his stomach.
This wasn’t the life he’d planned. It’d been a simple plan, rise to High Commander, work hard, stop the Priests, and protect the Queens. And he’d failed.
Failure ripped through his belly, forming new knots and twists. Now, it was worse. He cared about the woman he loved and failed. Triena. That cut deeper than anything else.
~ ~ ~
The door swung open and a young Priestess entered the room. Triena bolted upright from the bed, eyes heavy with sleep, but she hadn’t been sleeping.
The Priestess placed a tray with a plate of cheese, nuts, and bread on the table and turned to leave.
“Wait!” Triena struggled to get her mind working after allowing herself to hover between worlds.
The Priestess paused, her hands clutched tight, she glanced back nervously.
“Light a fire.”
The Priestess shook her head and turned to leave.
“Stop.” Triena rose from the bed and rushed towards the girl and grabbed her arm. The Priestess struggled trying to get out of her grip but Triena held her fast, pulled her in close, and grabbed the girl’s dark head. She pulled it back so she could look into the younger woman’s eyes.
“This isn’t how you treat a Queen,” said Triena.
The girl’s green eyes contracted, her pupils small with fear.
Triena kept her grip tight, struggling with Arkina’s energy demanding to be treated better than this. That wasn’t going to happen. Triena knew it, but she wanted to influence the bigger picture. She glared down at the girl, who quivered.
“Please,” started the girl. “Please don’t . . .”
Triena pulled her hair back, stopping the girl from speaking.
“You tell them,” started Triena, her voice icy cold from Arkina’s essence. “You tell them that they’re to give me a trial. That’s the least those bitches can do.”
The girl’s eyes watered, her lips trembled.
“You got that? Tell them I expect a trial.”
“Yes,” the Priestess whispered.
“Hey, is everything, all right in there?” yelled a man outside the door.
“You’d better remember. I’d hate to see your life end too early.” Triena released the girl, and she scurried away. The door closed behind her, the bolt slamming shut.
The sound echoed inside Triena’s mind. She shivered and took the tray back to the bed, wrapping herself in the blanket, the cold had settled deep into her bones, causing them to ache constantly. The movement of holding the girl had left her shaken. She didn’t like being violent like that to another person.
Her stomach was too tense to want food, but she forced herself to eat. The bread was stale and hard, so she left it. The cheese was dry, but edible, and so were the nuts. It was just enough.
Triena ate, allowing her mind to slip back to the comfort of the space between the physical and Energy Field. It was warmer here, just, or at least she couldn’t feel the coldness sucking away at her life.
No . . . we can’t . . . trial . . . no . . . kill . . . she betrayed us . . .
Snatches of angry whispers filtered out from the Energy Field. Triena moved her awareness closer to the border of the worlds.
She doesn’t deserve . . . don’t give her a trial . . . we’re no better . . .
Triena took some comfort from what she heard. The Queens had received the message and now they were arguing over whether or not to give her a trial. They are turning on each other. She was pleased that her small request caused so much discord.
~ ~ ~
“Did you get him? Did you remove the Energy Trader?” A Queen glared at the two Peacekeepers. The rabbit shifted uneasily in the pack. He’d wanted to get into the castle but not like this. He watched the guards talking to the Queen through the Energy.
“Yes ma’am.” They answered in unison.
She narrowed her gaze on them.
The rabbit froze. She’s seen me. He kept still and withdrew from the Energy Field. Careless, he berated himself. The two guards were stupid and while they’d marked him for the pot, the rabbit thought he would be able to escape. All he had to do was bide his time until the opportunity arose. But that wasn’t going to happen if the Queens found him. They’d know his skill and keep him under watch.
“You’ve got something,” said the Queen.
“No, no, we haven’t, ma’am,” said the man holding tight to the pack.
“Yes, you do. Show me.”
“Respectfully, we have nothing that would interest you,” said the man.
Idiot, thought the rabbit. The man’s voice was thick with nerves.
“Give it to me,” said the Queen. “Or you will be part of a reading.”
The man took off the pack. The rabbit tumbled inside from the movement. It was abruptly unzipped. It opened and he looked up at a woman. He jumped. But she was quick. She grabbed him and held him firm. “Oh, I’ve been looking for you.”
The rabbit released his bladder, but she didn’t even flinch.
“I’ve been working with animals for a long time. That isn’t going to stop me.” She bundled him back into the pack. “I know exactly what to do with you.”
The rabbit trembled. He knew what she was going to do.
“The others are going to like this.” The Queen closed the pack, leaving the rabbit in darkness once more. “We’re going to have a very special reading.”
The pack moved as the queen swung it over her shoulder. “Right now.”
Chapter 18
Triena replaced the last dried flower in the pockets inside the sleeves of the robe. The hours waiting hadn’t been wasted. Each flower had been carefully unw
rapped and placed in its own pocket.
The energy of the buds warmed her, filling her with hope and with a plan. It might not work, but it was something, an anchor for her. The sweet smell of the flowers wafted out and calmed her mind. Not long now. They will be here soon. With the help of the Energy, she felt them coming toward her.
She closed her eyes and went through the plan once more. A flutter in her lower abdomen caught her attention, distracted her. She placed her hand on her belly and reached down with her awareness. Triena gasped, a mix of joy and shock swirled around in her aura at the discovering.
It’s not possible. She wouldn’t have thought this could happen, not with all the stress she’d been under. Besides, she’d always used the Energy for birth control. But did I remember? Things had always been different with Braklen. So quick, so hot, so passionate. Her cheeks warmed.
Protection against pregnancy had been the last thing on her mind when she’d been with Braklen. Being away from each other made the passion stronger, so when they were alone on the Petal they hadn’t held back, re-familiarizing themselves with each other’s flesh, taste, and pleasure.
Triena checked again. There wasn’t any doubt. A small seed of potential life lay in her womb. The reality hit her. I can’t . . . I don’t . . . She needed to focus on one thing. She needed all her resources and strength and she wasn’t sure how that was going to affect the baby. A flutter stirred strongly inside of her. She sighed. Think you can look after yourself, do you?
A wave of excitement rippled out from her belly. I have to do this. I have to stand up to the Queens and I can’t hold back to protect you. She wanted to, but everything she’d been doing recently had been leading to this point, and after getting this far, there was no turning back.
Not when there’s a chance I can inflict some damage on them all. They are already breaking apart. She had heard angry whispers filtering through to her while she waited. She couldn’t reach them, she’d been firmly locked out of the group. But, she’d gained a glimpse of what they were doing. Fighting among themselves was what she wanted. It will give me the chance of gaining the upper hand.
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