by Mari Dietz
His face softened. “Just the ones who are worth it. But let’s stay dry tonight.”
“Got it. No frozen bits tonight.” Vic wondered if maybe she’d have a chance to talk about the reapers she’d seen attacking the young man. A nervous energy filled her at the prospect. What would happen to her if he knew about it? She’d been thinking about how she would tell him all day. What would happen to her if she was wrong about Kai?
“I need to charge before we head out. You might as well fill up too.”
Vic nodded, and they headed out of the Order and into the streets. A charging station was up ahead. Kai grabbed the handle and placed it to his gicorb. He put his gicgauge on the holder and selected an amount that he wanted to charge. The required blight drained out of his relic for payment. It only took a few moments before it clicked. A final hum sounded, and with that, it was Vic’s turn.
She didn’t have as much blight to trade for a charge. She’d traded it already for credits to buy food. Kai placed his scythe in the slot.
“You don’t need to pay for me.” It was nice of him, but she could manage.
He’d selected the charge option already. “Let’s call this your welcome gift.”
Vic didn’t turn it down. Her orb itched, and it was getting low. She didn’t want to follow her father, but she’d rather not turn into a mog to get away from him.
“I’ll take you on our routes. There’ll be others on the route, and they’ll take on the mogs if there are any. Most of the time, we run into mogs outside the city gate.” Kai wrinkled his nose. “We’ll also have rotations for sewer duty. Sometimes, we find people about to change into mogs down there, but it smells horrible.”
“I don’t doubt it.” How glamorous her life was now. Vic shivered. She’d never been outside of Verrin. “What’s out there?”
“Miles of nothing but swamp. Those rumors are true. We built up walkways with magic. The real danger is falling into the swamp. Some areas will swallow you whole. We don’t go out any farther. There’s no point. If there are any other humans out there, they’ll turn into mogs if they come our way.”
She gulped and followed him down the canal toward the outskirts of the city. It made sense that those who needed blight removed were those who might be out of work. There weren’t enough reapers to collect all the blight, but most often, their families didn’t recognize the corruption until it was too late and the person had wandered off in search of red-meat options.
Kai ran, and Vic followed. A grin grew on her face. She’d never gotten the chance to hunt with others. There was a thrill in keeping up with someone like Kai. His muscles flexed under his shirt as he ran, his movements smooth. He made it look easy. Vic wanted to spar with him now that her ankle wasn’t injured. It would be all flesh on flesh and the force of his attack.
“Enjoying the view?”
Vic paused, lost in thought, then smiled. “Yeah, I saw a cute cat over there.”
He snorted and turned down an alleyway. It was darker with only one lone lamp in the middle of the block. “First run. We branch out down these alleys in groups of two. Since it’s only us, we’ll take the final path. The others behind us will patrol the other alleys.”
They found nothing, and in silence, they went to the next road. They stayed next to the canal. Vic memorized all the alleys. She had a feeling she’d need to remember the route for tomorrow night.
They drew closer to the large stone wall. The city had four main gates, and city officers guarded them, more as a warning system if there was another breach. The founders had finally realized that they could get hurt if they didn’t maintain the walls. Apparently, many lives had been lost the day mogs had breached Verrin, but no one talked about it.
As they approached, Kai flashed his neck, showing them his brand.
The guards pulled out their wands as they stood behind their stone enclosure and placed them on the iron gate. The bars molded aside, and they ran through to the outside world.
The sky and smells were the same out here. The air was thicker with moisture. They jogged along the stone path. Their boots echoed in the endless darkness. There were lampposts on the walkway, but beyond that, it was only blackness and the swirl of blight.
The feeling of being watched made her skin prickle as she ran with Kai.
“You already know mogs can take many shapes, and the ones out here are bigger and need more than one reaper to drain it. A group ran ahead, and one is behind. If we see a mog, we run.”
“Understood.” He must not have thought she’d run. It was pure chance that she’d beaten a mog by herself, and her bruised body remembered all too well how that had felt. If he hadn’t bandaged her ankle, she might not have made it through the trial.
Without warning, Kai shot up in the air. Vic halted. Then in the lamplight, she saw a thick, rubbery tentacle around his ankle. Its whip-like arms rose out of the swamp. There were no fingers, and Vic couldn’t see a head. It hoisted Kai up, and with horror, she realized the mouth was in the center of all the flailing tentacles. Razor-sharp teeth came into view. Swamp water drained out as it pushed itself up.
Kai thrashed in its grip. “Sparks, run!”
Tentacles shot out at her, and she jumped over them, but there were too many. Kai grabbed a long knife from his harness and tried to sever the tentacle. He struggled as the mog lowered him toward its mouth. Vic pulled out her scythe, unfolded it with a loud click, then slashed at the tentacle arms. The blight warmed her relic as it drained.
“Sparks, listen to me!” Kai slashed at the arms, only a foot away from being dropped into the mouth.
Vic’s gicgauge filled as she slashed, but she couldn’t drain this one. The mogs out here had had too much time to build up blight. Using the scythe’s inner blade, she hooked it around the tentacle and yanked it toward herself, and the tentacle fell off with a thunk. She couldn’t reach Kai from the stone path. She needed to step into the swamp to cut the arm off.
Tentacles swung at her, trying to grip her, and she kicked them away.
Kai stabbed the arm with his knife and nearly got through, but his head hung next to the razor-sharp teeth. Without looking up, he shouted, “If you even think of getting in the swamp—”
Vic jumped into the water and sank down to her waist. The tentacle arms immediately surrounded her. She lowered her grip on the scythe and hacked at the rubbery arms. The sharp blade cut through them, but there were more under the water, and they gripped her around the waist. The mog squeezed, and she gasped for air.
A loud splashed sounded to her right as Kai hit the water. His blade flashed. He dove under the water and rose next to her. With one arm under her armpits, he tugged her up, allowing her to cut through the surrounding tentacles. The pieces fell from her.
Kai flung her toward the stone path. Her fingers slipped on the stone, and she fell back into the water. The muck sucked her down, but Vic slammed her scythe on the stone, and from the water, she used all her strength to pull her top half onto the path. Her lower half suctioned down, and she held her legs together and pushed against the side of the stone path. She flopped onto the stone and rolled onto her side to scan the water. Kai’s head was above the surface. She extended her scythe to him, and he gripped the wood. His hands couldn’t gain traction, but she pulled him close enough to reach him. The mog’s remaining tentacles wrapped around Kai. He used one hand to cut them off while Vic yanked him onto the stone walkway.
Her muscles strained against the tug-of-war with the mog. Then with shouts, reapers surrounded her. Blades out, they cut the mog. One of them came to help pull Kai up. In moments, the mog melted into flesh, drained of the blight, leaving a greasy smear on the water.
Vic flopped onto her back and took a deep breath. Then a shadow passed over her.
“Get up.” His voice was dark.
Vic swallow and pushed herself up.
Kai nodded to the reapers who had saved them, and then he ran down the path. Vic blinked at his back.
; “You better follow, newbie.” A reaper with bright green hair grinned. “Good luck.”
She forced her battered body to run after him. Her lungs begged for her to stop as they raced. The steady jog from before now gone, they sprinted back toward the city gates. Her clothing clung to her, and the muddy swamp water chafed her skin.
Vic focused on pumping her legs to stop herself from falling apart.
“Kai, wait,” she gasped.
“Keep going.”
She could do this. They full-out sprinted through their route, checking for blight. Then they were back where they’d started at the gates of Nyx.
Kai turned to her, his eyes stormy and his jaw tight. “We do four rounds. During the first, we jog, since that’s when the corrupted come out, and they’re hungry. Then we do two rounds walking. The last one before dawn, we run.”
No wonder he’d had no trouble keeping up with her in the water that night.
“I’m sorry.” She shivered in the breeze, her clothing damp.
“Follow me.”
He ran again, and Vic bit back a groan. Her pants clung to her and drooped, the material stretched. She recognized the street they went down and the house Kai had brought her to on the night they met. He slammed open the door and stood facing her, his arms crossed while he tried to take in a full breath of air.
Vic had thought she was in shape, but apparently not.
“So you can run. I wondered after I told you and you ignored me.” His wet clothing molded to his shape, and his arms flexed. Dirty water dripped onto the clean floor.
“I wasn’t going to leave you there!”
What was the point of working together as a team?
He stepped forward and leaned over her. “Did I or did I not tell you to run?”
“You did.” She backed away.
“Do you think you know better than your commander?” He invaded her space.
Vic squared her shoulders. “Was I supposed to leave you to die?”
“What makes you think I was going to die?”
Vic flung her arms out. “The teeth a foot away from your head.”
Kai strode forward, forcing Vic to stumble back. Her back met the closed door, and Kai placed a hand next to her head. The smell of cedar hit her nose, even with them covered in swamp water. “I was getting out of it. Then instead of getting to the stone path, I had to rescue you. You put us both in danger because you thought you knew better than me. I’ve been fighting mogs for a long time. I’ve been training newbies for a long time. I know how to cut and run when it’s only two reapers.” He spat out the last words. “I can’t trust you with my team if you don’t listen to me.”
“I’m sorry.” He was right. She hadn’t trusted him to get out of the situation, and she’d made the situation worse. “I won’t do it again.”
He stepped back and shook his head. “I’m requesting a transfer. I’m sorry, Sparks. I don’t think you’ll listen to me.”
An ache filled her like a knife digging into her gut. “That’s it? I’m out, just like that? I messed up. I won’t do it again.”
“Should we test that in another life and death situation?”
Vic jutted out her jaw. “No. I’ll listen to you in any battle situation.”
He raised a brow. “Even if it puts someone in perceived danger?”
“You won’t put anyone in danger. Kai, I’m used to being on my own. I didn’t want you to get hurt. I thought I was helping.” Her chest tightened.
He grinned and laughter filled his eyes. “Well, it didn’t take long for you to submit, Sparks. I for sure thought I’d have to teach you another lesson.”
Vic’s face grew red. “What do you mean? You couldn’t have planned all this?”
His chest shook. “The type of mog, no. But I do this every quarter with the newbie. They always think they can save me.” He grimaced. “Although, I admit the tentacles were a surprise. That was a nasty mog.” Kai looked at her sheepishly. “The other reapers were close the whole time.”
“They all saw me—”
“Disobey an order? Yes. They have orders to stand back unless they think we might die.” Kai reached over, pulled a juice out of his fridge, and offered one to her.
Vic took a swallow, the cool liquid soothing her throat. “Is this some sort of hazing?”
Kai finished his juice in one long gulp and tossed the empty bottle in the trash. “I mean, we both got dunked in swamp water, but like I said, there isn’t a newbie who listens. It may be a weird welcome, but it serves two purposes.”
Vic leaned back against the wall. “To put us in our place and make sure we follow orders?”
He might be insane.
Kai wiped his mouth. “Exactly. But we’re kind enough to let you shower before we run the route three more times.”
Vic groan. “Run?”
He grinned. “Gotta catch up now. The faster we shower, the slower we run.”
Vic darted into the bathroom. Nothing had changed since last time. With a smile, she pushed his comb askew again. She got in the shower and let the hot water wash away the swamp. There were dry clothes already waiting for her in the bathroom, and she tied up her wet hair and got dressed.
Kai quickly showered after her, and before she knew it, they were running on the path again.
Though he’d had dry clothing for her, her boots still squelched with water. “Couldn’t you have gotten my other boots too?”
Kai laughed. “Part of the lesson, Sparks. After you run a night in wet boots, you’ll remember to listen.”
“Power trip.” She could already feel a blister forming.
She tiredly followed him; her pride wouldn’t let her fall behind. She tried to distract herself by thinking of something else besides the lack of air or her burning muscles. Focusing on the muscles in Kai’s back didn’t help. They made it to the original gate. This time, as they ran the stone path, there was only the sound of their thudding boots.
The second route finished, Kai stopped to let her get a drink of water. She took in more air, and Kai rubbed his brand as he waited.
Vic hesitated. The brand flashed in her mind from the rogue reaper. “When someone leaves the Order of Nyx, what happens to the brand?” She knew she was trying to delay the truth but she hoped still that she was wrong.
“Why?” He rolled his shoulders and stretched out his arms.
“Just wondering if each Order does something different.” Maybe she’d missed something in the dark.
“Xiona blacks it out.” Kai raised his hands in the shape of a square. “A big black square of shame.”
They weren’t kicked out, then, Vic thought.
Kai tilted his head. “Why? Did you see something?”
She’d spent the whole night thinking about how to tell him before more people got hurt. She studied his face as she said, “There are rumors of people with brands taking out orbs. You hear a lot of things where I used to live.”
Kai’s stance widened. “What rumors? I haven’t heard of this.”
“You’re here, and I lived there.”
His surprise looked real. She should go with her gut and trust him.
“Uh-huh. Why don’t you spit it out? Vagueness doesn’t suit you.”
Vic rubbed her arms. “The other day, I caught some reapers attacking a young man. They were trying to take out his orb. I stopped them, but he told me this has been going on for a while. When they report it, the officers do nothing.”
“You saw their brand?” Kai’s whole body tensed.
Vic nodded.
He stepped back, understanding why she’d been hesitant. “They were scythes?”
She nodded again. If he didn’t know, then Xiona might not know either. Would a group do this to boost their collection numbers?
“Blight take us.” He slammed his hand against the stone wall. “Where?”
“Next to Scrums Creek. I’m sure we could ask people down there and see if there are other reports.”
&nb
sp; Kai stepped back. “We may not like what we find.”
Vic placed a hand on his arm. “I have a feeling this might hurt you more than me. You’ve fought with them and know them.” She would have no trouble putting those rogues away. The people in the poor parts of the city had enough to worry about. The reapers should be protecting everyone equally.
“I’m sure there’s an explanation.”
Vic smiled encouragingly, but the troubled look stayed on his face.
He ran his hand through his hair. “Sparks, we better finish up the route. Sorry, we’ll need to go faster.”
“Can’t we skip it and go find the reapers?” Her tired body screamed at her.
Kai glanced at the Order’s windows. “No deviation. I’m not sure what’s going on.”
Translation: another commander might be doing this, and they couldn’t make their suspicion obvious.
Vic cracked her neck and ran after Kai’s departing form. His back remained tense, and she worried for him.
11
Vic
Vic lay on the ground. The cold stone did nothing for her trembling body. Kai splashed water on her face, and she glared at him.
“Get up, Sparks. I want to check the location.” He remained tense and ready to move.
Vic took a lazy swipe at him, but he dodged it easily. “Go on without me. I’m going to die here.”
He laughed. “You think tonight was bad, wait until tomorrow.”
“Ugh, you’re psychotic.” Vic pushed herself up and wiped the sweat from her neck and face with her shirt. It didn’t do much since her shirt was damp. She caught Kai’s gaze flicking to her exposed flesh. Vic flapped her shirt. “Like what you see?”
He lifted the corner of his shirt and copied Vic by wiping his face. His exposed abs gleamed with sweat, and the hard planes stood out in the lamplight. “You never seem to have a problem looking. Fair is fair.”
“Good point.”
They paused, and the air between them thickened.
Vic cleared her throat. “Ah, suppose we should head out?”