by Day Leitao
She squinted. “What do you think I’m trying to do?”
“I don’t know. Put me through a very extenuating test to see if I’m worthy of you?”
She chuckled. “You don’t need to prove that.”
“What is it then?”
Cayla rolled her eyes. “Do I have to spell it out?”
Darian sighed. “Yes, you do. I don’t want you telling me later you regret it, that you were just in the moment. But this is not the time or place for this conversation.”
Cayla stared at him and her face softened. “Fine. Let’s fly north and try to get more answers. Hopefully they’ll be useful this time.”
Sian walked down to the prison of the castle. They’d found Liam, and that was a good start.
Liam was sitting on a bench. His former friend looked his same usual self except for a bandaged arm.
Sian didn’t open the door, just talked to him from behind bars. “Why did you leave your post?”
He pretended to have just seen Sian and turned to him. “Oh, hello. It was unnecessary. The towers are secured.”
“Hum. Do you know where Karina is?”
“Why do you think I have that information?” There was malice and curiosity in the question.
“Just tell me what you know.” He kept his tone casual, and it didn’t take any effort. Sian’s feelings had been well locked in his safe.
Liam looked down, took a deep breath, and said, “I will. I’ll tell you everything.”
There was something overdramatic in his gestures and his tone of voice, and Sian could sense some sort of deception, but he didn’t say anything. “Go on.”
“That night I met her at the Junction. That night everything changed.”
Sian wasn’t in the mood to waste time or to listen to him for long. “Spare the details and go straight to the point.”
“We’re… She’s in love with me.”
Liam wasn’t lying. Surprising how he’d just said it matter-of-factly. Sian had always been somewhat proud that he hadn’t turned like his father had wanted; hard, menacing. His father believed that the best way to control people was through fear. Sian had found his own way, and it didn’t involve fear, but just now he wished perhaps that he had been different, and that he had been capable of cutting of Liam’s thing, chopping it in pieces, and feeding it to the birds. Liam knew well Sian wouldn’t do such a thing, as his eyes showed no fear.
Well, in truth Sian wouldn’t hurt someone she loved, even if he couldn’t understand why she preferred Liam. Put it away. “Where is she?” His voice had sounded a lot more threatening than even he expected.
“Please. Understand. I’m still your friend. I meant none of this to happen. You didn’t really care about her, did you? She was only meant to be queen. I saved her life. She was unconscious, almost drowning in mud, about to be killed by your creatures. I woke her up and she was in love. And then, at night—”
“I don’t care for your love story.” His father also cut people’s tongues. Why was it that suddenly he could understand his father? Perhaps because he could remember the feeling of Liam’s tongue like a rattling snake aiming for his throat. Her throat. Put it away. None of it mattered. Violence like that was a result of anger, a result of pain. Pain only existed to the extent he let it affect him. “Do you know where she is or not?”
“She went home. Back to her dimension.”
“Are you sure? How do you know that?”
“She told Darian. We were waiting for her, after she came talk to you, and she called him saying she would go home. Apparently she’s capable of it.”
He was telling the truth. Sian exhaled a breath he had no idea he’d been holding, then turned around to go.
“Hey!” Liam called. “Are you going to keep me here? I told you it wasn’t my fault.”
Sian didn’t turn around, he just turned his face sideways. “You’re here for disobedience. I can’t let it slide. Sorry. If my queen comes back, and if she wants you released, then you’ll be free.”
“You can’t keep me here forever.”
“I didn’t say forever.”
He walked away, ears shut to any complaints from his former best friend. He felt as if he had a lead ball in his stomach. Perhaps it was only his safe, too full of stuff that didn’t matter. It didn’t matter.
The feeling remained, though. At first, he’d thought it was like when she’d been in danger, and that perhaps Lylah had kidnapped her. But Liam really believed she’d gone home. Perhaps there were other things bothering Sian. Not pain, though. He was immune to pain. Any kind of pain.
And then suddenly he felt as if his entire body were receiving an electric shock. He didn’t allow the pain to reach his brain, and yet, and yet… Something was wrong.
He walked to his room on the third floor. His mouth had a bitter taste. He took the staff and hit the floor three times.
“That didn’t take long,” the voice said. “So? What is it you wish to know?”
His throat was closing, and he had trouble speaking. “Where’s my queen?”
“Oh, that. Interesting you should ask. I have her well taken care of, in Marisia.”
There was a lie in his voice. Funny that Sian could detect a lie even in a disembodied voice. “Show her.”
And there she was, in a tower, with some kind of brilliant material tying her hands and wrists. Sian’s stomach dropped. Everything dropped. It was as if he was falling in a dark hole, as if he was being thrown into his safe, in a place where there was only darkness and nothingness and pain, as if his body had decomposed into millions of pieces. And he knew the image was real.
Sian could only gather enough strength for his voice not to shake and speak in a casual tone. “So what? If you kill her, she’ll still be queen. It won’t open anything for you. I don’t understand why you bother.”
“No, no, I have no plans to kill her. Don’t worry about it. All I want to do is cause her pain.”
Sian felt as if he had swollen a bottle of acid, but he kept his cool tone and demeanor. “You have absolutely nothing to gain with that.”
“It’s my bargaining chip. Let me show you.”
The voice went quiet for a moment, and the image remained. She looked calm, composed, as if thinking, or planning something. Then the shock came. Her face contorted, and she let out a scream that could pierce his soul.
Sian would not let his guard down. He forced out a chuckle. “Nice trick. I saw it. You can stop it now. What do you want?”
“Open the portals.”
“How?”
“Declare she’s no longer queen.”
“If I do that, you could kill her.”
“Oh, what’s the problem? Do you even care about her?” The voice had a mocking tone.
“I don’t want any killings or pain.”
“That’s great. If you don’t want her to feel any more pain, go to the Darloom castle and use the bigger staff to break all mirrors in the purple room. If you do that, you’ll have her back.”
That was probably the key to opening the portals. “I want her unharmed and alive.”
“Unharmed and alive. No problem.”
“I need twenty-four hours.”
“No, you don’t. You can get there much faster.”
“Yes. But those mirrors might be hard to break. I’ll need to figure out a way to do it, in case they need some magic or something.”
“Very well, young king. You have one day. After that, I’ll start killing her. Oh, don’t worry; it will be slow.”
“For one day, you must not harm her or cause her any more pain.”
“I won’t. But I want those mirrors broken by tomorrow.”
Sian banged three times on the floor. He felt like vomiting, his vision was blurry, then he focused. More than ever in his life, he had to block the pain and focus.
He picked up both staffs, strapped them to his back, and rushed to Joel. “I’ll need to leave, and you’ll be in charge. I want every force from t
he north back in Siphoria, and I don’t want any of the old military leaders detained. I want everyone back in their posts.”
“Then they’ll depose us.”
“They won’t. We might have bigger problems to deal with.”
“Might?”
Sian sighed. “I’ll do everything I can to stop it, but if I fail, something might come through.”
Joel frowned. “What do you mean? I thought what you did was safe.”
“So did I. I’ll try to prevent anything from happening.”
“If nothing happens, we’ll look like fools,” Joel said.
“Let’s hope that’s the case. Also, please contact Malena. Send her away. Send Aline away too. Perhaps evacuate the city.”
Joel frowned. “When do you think that will happen?”
“Tomorrow at this time.”
“We can’t evacuate the city. There aren’t enough lifts of boats to get everyone out. If we try it, they’ll all be caught exposed, trying to flee.”
True. How was it that Sian was getting stupid? “You’re right. Don’t say anything. We can’t have panic. Tomorrow morning I’ll contact you telling you if I won, or if there will be an attack. If there’s an attack, the citizens must go back to their houses and find protection in basements or anywhere that’s secure.”
“Goodness, Sian. What’s going to happen? I wouldn’t have agreed with this if I knew—”
“Do you think I knew it? Do you think it was my plan?” His voice had risen more than he would have liked it to. “Lylah knew it. That’s why she’s in Arlenia. But it was bound to happen. Nothing you did caused it.” Sian’s actions had perhaps precipitated Darloom, but apparently it was something that would have happened anyway.
“Is Lylah coming back?”
Sian shook his head. “No. That’s what she’s come to tell me; that I would be on my own for that.”
“Do you think it’s on purpose, so she can take back the throne?”
“I have no idea.” It was true. Whatever Lylah’s plans were, he would not spare a single thought to try to decipher them. There were more important things. “Anyway. Everyone out of prison, everyone in their posts, everyone in Siphoria, near the castle.”
“Where will the attack start?”
“If it starts, it will come from the blue tower.”
Joel’s eyes were wide. “Within the castle?”
“Yes. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you if you have to evacuate the castle.”
“What should I say?”
“Figure it out. I didn’t make you my second-in-command for nothing.”
“All right.” Joel patted him on the shoulder. “By the way, did you find your queen?”
“Yes. No need to look for her anymore. Get everyone back in their posts.”
“Shouldn’t you be here, though? If this attack starts?”
“I’ll be trying to prevent this attack from happening.”
“At the Darloom castle.”
Sian nodded.
“Won’t the attack be there?”
“No. The crack is here, and it’s going to be here. If it happens. I have to go. Good luck. I’m counting on you.”
“Where are you going?”
“Right now? To Siphoria. I need to find my brother. If you find him or hear about him, contact me, otherwise, all that I asked you should keep you busy enough.”
Joel’s face was incredulous. “Are you meeting him to step down?”
“I can’t step down.”
Sian left his friend dumbfounded and maybe even disappointed. Joel was smart, capable, and pragmatic. He would prepare the city to fight whatever came through—again, if anything came through.
32
Brothers
Siphoria’s lights were fading away behind Darian and Cayla as they flew north, when a communicator beeped.
“It’s not mine,” Cayla said.
“Or mine.” Darian looked around. “It’s the lift’s. I wonder who found this frequency. I’ll open it, but don’t reply if we don’t know who it is.”
Darian pushed up the switch.
A voice said, “Darian, this is me; Sian. I need your help.”
It sounded wrong, without his brother’s usual bite and sarcasm, and wasn’t at all his voice. Darian looked at Cayla, who shook her head. She didn’t buy it was Sian either.
“I know you’re there, Darian,” the voice said. “All I had to do to find you was figure out where Liam was captured, and get the lift number. I know you’re there, and I understand you’re too upset to talk to me, but please make an exception.”
Still too weird. Why would anyone try to impersonate his brother, though? And if someone did try to impersonate Sian, that would be the worst impersonation ever.
“Maybe it’s him,” Darian whispered to Cayla.
“Wait,” she mouthed.
“My sweet little brother,” the voice then said. “Don’t you have a bit of fraternal love buried within that chest?”
“What do you want?” Darian replied.
Karina woke up and her first feeling was of extreme relief. She was alive! More than that, she felt no pain. Perhaps it was possible that she hadn’t really been permanently hurt. There were no burns, no marks, no signs from the pain she’d felt. She exhaled in relief. She hadn’t died, just fainted from the pain, her body’s general anesthesia. She was alive. Alive!
But trapped.
If she made it out alive, she felt that she would be given a second chance, a chance to make things right. Strangely, she didn’t regret having come to Whyland. Her only regret was her fateful decision to teleport back home. But then, perhaps she’d been under Darloom’s pernicious influence in the castle. She would get out alive, though. Powerful magic, wasn’t that what Leena had said? All Karina had to do was focus and use it. If everything worked out, she’d find a way to go to Darian’s city in the north and try to convince Leena to tell her how to become a guardian and learn magic. If anything, teleporting and fighting, as much as it could lead to her death, made her feel alive. Of course, she had to get out first, but having a reason to live helped.
Her thoughts turned to Sian. Perhaps she’d kissed someone else, but he’d been super cold to her. She’d told the disembodied voice that keeping her would be useless. Sian would never open any portal for Karina, and it wasn’t only that he didn’t care about her, but that it wouldn’t be right to exchange one life for many. He did have some principles, after all. If anything, that was one of the reasons why she liked him, but if she really had a second chance again, she would need to remember that part of him was power-hungry, manipulative, and cunning. He was both, and perhaps it didn’t matter because she’d never see him again.
She still loved him, though, and realized it wasn’t something she could erase with false thoughts or denial. No reason to feel humiliated if he didn’t like her. At least she had felt something. She’d keep the memory of their good times as well as the memory of her mistakes. As much as she could learn with the experience, she didn’t have to deny or hate it. She had loved him, and it had been wonderful.
She still loved him, in fact, and accepting the feeling was a step towards being ready to let it go. She’d focus on herself, her magic, and what she believed was her calling. Finding someone who loved her would come in time.
Two winged creatures came in, and one approached her. Its rugged, slimy claws cut her ties. Should she run for the door? No. Wait. She was too weak. A creature gave her a bowl with food, and they left. Living worms and water. She’d never, ever complain against any kind of food again. Karina from two weeks before would have freaked out in disgust just at the sight of the bowl. But she was different now, and she was going to survive this. It was all a matter of perspective, right? She could imagine this was a very exotic delicacy. Technically it was. Foreign food. Anyway, protein. Down it went.
Darian was headed for an island on the Silver River. His brother had promised to come alone, but it could be a trap.
He hoped to
talk some sense into Cayla. “If you’re so sure it’s a trap, why not stay behind?”
She shrugged. “Don’t know. I guess the worst he’ll do is imprison us. I can take it. I don’t want to leave you, Darian. If you really want to be foolish to go and meet him, then you’ll have to bring me along.”
Darian sighed. He had to fight against his urge to protect her because if he told her to stay behind she’d get upset. On the other hand, he didn’t think Sian was out to kill them, but still, he dreaded the thought of Cayla imprisoned. And then again, all of their fights had been because she’d felt suffocated when he tried to protect her. His worst fear was to see Cayla hurt, or worse, dead, but then he also feared she’d stop loving him, so it was a balancing act.
Darian put his hand over hers. “We’re in this together.”
She kissed him on the cheek. Had they not been about to land, and not in such a tense situation, he’d pull her towards him, but both of them knew it was not the time. He just caressed her hand. And down they went, towards land, to meet his brother. His heart hammered in his chest, not only in anticipation for the meeting, but also because he’d have to land on a narrow beach. Cayla didn’t know it, but he was a terrible pilot. Actually, he glanced at her tense face and realized she’d just figured it out. At least she didn’t say anything. They landed with a bang and slipped over the sand.
They got out of the lift and found Sian sitting on a fallen trunk.
He had his arms crossed. “Impressive landing.”
“So you’re really alone?” Darian asked.
“That’s what I said, wasn’t it? I may do lots of things, but lying isn’t among them.”
“You just said my landing was impressive.”
Sian raised an eyebrow. “Wasn’t it? You almost sent your lift in the water. I had no idea you were that terrible, and wouldn’t have chosen this island if I’d known it would endanger your life. I am truly sorry. And impressed.”
Cayla was beside Darian, and said, “You should be sorry for all the horrible things you’ve been doing, and all you did to Karina. She didn’t deserve that.”