by Wendy Wang
“You don’t know that,” she snapped. “If we distract them and get to the paintings, maybe they wouldn’t follow. Once we’re there we can deal with what comes at us.”
“You’re insane girl,” he muttered.
“Maybe,” she said, flinching at a shot that came dangerously close to the corner of the crate. She flipped the wish disk in her fingers and sliced through the second harness. The leather strips fell away and she made another wish. The soldier's hand grazed the back of her leg, but it didn’t stop her from stepping into the open space between the two crates. She clutched the disk in one hand and her metal stars in the other. A fireball zoomed straight at her, and numbing panic mushroomed in her chest. She threw one of the metal stars and it collided with the fireball, blinding her for a few seconds before it exploded, driving Egan and his surviving men backwards. The metal star returned to her but not before it sliced through the air towards one of the guardsmen. “Jorgen,” she hissed. “Get up.”
Jorgen tried to look everywhere at once. Pain marred his sweaty face and he shook his head. Sorrel gritted her teeth and reached out to him. All three men blasted her with bolts of deadly blue energy. Sorrel closed her eyes and held up the disk, muttering her wish under her breath. There were limits to what it could do — she had witnessed it firsthand — but she was willing to push the boundaries of the little silver disk, even if it meant failure.
Her heart stuttered when the first bolt hit the invisible shield she had cast around them. The energy rippled across the air, spreading out, hitting several barrels of apearin. The round, red-skinned fruit shattered, spraying their mealy flesh across the dirty floor. The dry wood of the containers caught fire and smoke filled the space.
Sorrel grabbed Jorgen’s arm, and he scrambled to his feet.
“This way,” the soldier said, grabbing her wrist and dragging her towards the darkened hallway.
The cool night air slapped her in the face as they rushed from the building.
“We've got to go back,” she said yanking her wrist out of the soldier's hand. “We have to get through those paintings before this whole building goes up.”
“I will get you out of here,” the soldier said. “I just need you to trust me.”
In the distance screams came from the open-air cafeteria and sleeping quarters. An explosion rocked through the compound, shaking the ground beneath their feet. Egan shouted to his men in the distance and the three of them ran for the fence. The soldier motioned for them to follow him. Sorrel pumped her arms and her feet barely touched the still-warm soil. She threw a glance over her shoulder. Jorgen was running, but he was struggling to keep up. Another explosion sent flames leaping into the air. The building was on fire.
The sky rumbled and a flash of lightning struck the dirt six feet in front of them. Rocks and sandy earth sprayed outward, stinging her skin. Egan emerged from the fiery light, his face murderous.
Her feet went out from under her and she skidded to a stop. Egan had raised his baton before the soldier could even act. A deadly bolt of white light fired from the tip of Egan's baton, striking the soldier in the chest. He fell into a heap and didn’t move.
Sorrel threw the first star aiming for his head, and then threw the second, and the third.
Egan planted his feet and faced her. His heavy muscular arm swiped through the air, striking down each of the stars, turning them to nothing but smoldering hunks of metal.
“I thought you were better than that,” he said, taunting her.
Sorrel pitched her arm back, readying the fourth star. A hand locked on to her wrist, making her glance away. Jorgen tugged on her arm, yanking her to her feet, and pulling her towards the long rows of tall green vegetables. White bolts of fire sliced through the air around them, barely missing them.
Jorgen led her down the rows, crossing through breaks between the plants, moving towards the center of the field. Sorrel's thighs burned from running in a semi-crouch.
“Where are we going?” she hissed at him. He was dragging them back towards the buildings. “We should head to the wall.”
Jorgen dragged her behind the tall heads of prickle berries, forcing her to the ground. He covered her mouth with his hand, stifling her protest. Egan bashed his way across the field, striking down the plants in his path.
The half-full moon only offered enough light to make out the shadows of the thick rows and the space between them. Sorrel tightened her fingers around the round disk. She squeezed her eyes shut and wished with all her heart that she and Jorgen would be invisible to Egan's eyes. He made his way over to their row. Jorgen rolled them closer to the plants and she felt him wince against her as the thorns dug into his back. Egan held his baton up, its tip engulfed in flame, driving back the darkness around him. Jorgen's chest trembled against her back and his arms tightened around her as Egan drew closer. She held her breath, praying the goddess would somehow save them. His boots scraped through the sandy soil, so close she could have reached out and touched him.
He pointed the baton in front of him, swiping it right and left, as if he could sense them. He stopped in front of them. The tip of the baton was so close she could feel the heat on her face. She clenched her jaw, and looked up at him. His gaze locked onto hers and she clenched her jaw, defiant, readying herself to fight him again. The baton swiped to the other side of the path between the rows and he continued walking. Her gaze followed him until he came to the end of the row. Another explosion echoed across the fields and Egan headed towards the chaos.
“He's gone,” Jorgen said and peeled his hand away from her mouth. His grip loosened and she rolled into the middle of the dirt path, pulling him with her. She turned her body into his and held him close.
“Are you all right?” she whispered against the crook of his neck.
“I am now,” he muttered softly. His arms went around her and his lips grazed her forehead, trailing over her cheeks before finally finding her mouth. The kiss surprised her at first but she didn't pull away. Instead she gave into it and fire ignited in her belly with an emotion she had no words for, flowing from him to her and back to him again. He pulled his mouth away, his chest heaving, breathless. His rough hand cupped her cheek and his cinder colored eyes locked onto hers.
“I love you Sorrel Qinsa.” His thumb traced the curve of her cheekbone.
Brushing her lips softly against his, she said, “And I love you Jorgen Heard.”
The world burned around them. Explosions, shouts, and screams echoed across the field but she barely heard any of them. She pressed her lips to his, kissing him. All that mattered in this moment was the connection with Jorgen. Nothing else existed.
“We need to get out of here.”
“Where?” Jorgen asked. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“I have to tell you something.” She pinched the disk between her thumb and forefinger and brought her arm up between them. “The soldier who helped us escape gave me this when I was in confinement.”
“Who was he?”
“I don’t really know. He never even told me his name, but he saved me. More than once using this.”
“What is it?” He reached for it but she closed her fingers around it again.
“I think it's a wish disk.
“No,” he said his voice full of disbelief. “They don't really exist. It's just a fairy story.”
“That's what I thought too until tonight. I wished for us to be invisible right before Egan walked past us. He looked straight down on us and I swear on Jerugia's crown he looked me in the eye. I thought for sure we were dead.”
“Me too,” he said.
“As long as I have hold of this disk I think we’re invisible.”
“Then we could go anywhere,” he said. A fireball sailed over their heads landing in the middle of the fields. They both scrambled to their feet. Several rows of long beans caught the blast and fire leapt from plant to plant almost as if it had a mind of its own.
Jorgen laced his finger
s with hers and dragged her away from the fields. Another burst of fire struck the surrounding wall. The wall shook with the force, sending rocks and sandy mortar outward. The sound of metal scraping and tearing only added to the cacophony reverberating around them. Continued strikes finally weakened the stone and metal bulwark and it blew inward, spraying stone and metal into the dirt.
“Come on,” she said, yanking on his arm. “I know a way out of here.”
He followed her without question towards the warehouse. If she could get them to the paintings leading into Nydia, she was sure she could protect them with the little silver disk in her hand. At least until they could somehow get word to the queen.
The light blinded her before the force of the explosion knocked her backwards. For a few seconds the world spun at a dizzying pace. She hit the ground, sending sparks of pain through her arm and shoulder. Dust and ash coated her throat. She turned on her side, coughing and gasping, trying to regain some sense of how to breathe again. Her eyes searched for Jorgen through the haze and dust. A high-pitched scream reverberated through her head and she pushed herself up to sitting, holding her hands over her ears.
The smell of burning produce and old wood permeated the air and a white billow of smoke rose above the warehouse. Flames licked the dark sky and the heat scalded her skin. The paintings were gone. Of course they were. And along with them, their way out. Tears stung her eyes, and she blinked them back. Whatever chance they’d had for escaping to Nydia disappeared with the smoke and flame.
Jorgen lay on his side nearby. A long gash in his forehead wept blood across his face, and he coughed into the crook of his elbow.
“Jorgen!” she yelled, but could barely hear her own voice over the ringing in her ears. “Jorgen!”
Still he didn't look at her.
Her hands dug into the sandy soil and she crawled through the dirt, making her way towards him. When she reached him, she wiped the blood away from his eye with her thumb and made him look at her.
“Are you all right?” she said, unsure if he could hear her. He nodded his head still coughing.
Several feet away from her the wink of silver caught her eye. The disk. The force of the blast must have knocked it from her hand.
“Don't move,” she said. They needed that disk. It might be the only thing to protect them from Egan now. Her hip and shoulder protested as she pushed to her feet.
Egan emerged from the hazy darkness as if he’d been born of it. He bent down and scooped up the disk.
“Where did you get this?” he asked, running his thumb across the smooth metal.
“It’s mine. Give it back.” She gritted her teeth and planted herself between him and Jorgen.
“No,” he said flatly, putting the little disk in his pocket. He raised his baton, point it at her chest. She glanced around searching the dark soil for her stars, but did not see any of them. His eyes narrowed and he smirked. “Lose something?”
Sorrel took a step backwards, holding out her hand, calling for the metal stars with her thoughts.
Egan chuckled. “Looks like I win. Get him up.”
After helping Jorgen to his feet, Egan marched them away from the buildings towards the back of the field. The noise and chaos lessened as they drew closer to the fence line farthest from the compound.
Several black, ominous mouths carved deep into the red earth came into view. They were the holes that Raemah had told her about. As they passed the first pit, she saw a metal cell door lying across the opening.
“Help us.” A raspy voice floated up from the darkness. “Please.”
“Keep moving,” Egan barked, sparking them both in the back with a shock of blue light.
Pain traveled from her shoulder twitching all the way to her fingertips, and she stifled a cry. For the first time in her life she wished she could summon fire to knock him into one of these holes and earth to bury him. Tahlulah had been right to want to put him in the ground.
They reached the last pit and he commanded them to stop. Egan touched his baton to the barred door and it opened wide.
“Well, looks like this is where we’ll part ways for good,” he said.
Sorrel opened her mouth to protest, but Egan shot off a bolt of white fire straight into Jorgen’s chest. The force pushed him backwards. Her gaze followed the shadow of Jorgen until he melted into the gaping blackness and disappeared.
In the dark Egan’s eyes were obscured by shadows, but she imagined a fiery glow to them as he took aim at her.
Turning away, she stepped off the edge and was sailing free. The wind of the fall lifted her dark hair from her back and shoulders. She closed her eyes and braced for impact.
Jorgen grunted with a soft oofing sound as his soft body broke her fall. She wasn't sure how deep they were but it couldn't have been too far because somehow she survived the fall without even a sprained ankle. She climbed off of him quickly and turned him on his back.
“Jorgen,” she said, cradling his head in her lap. On his back she could see him fully in the light of the moon. His handsome boyish face was marred by the gash over his eye and swelling around his jaw. Blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth. The sickly smell of burned skin stung her nose. She smoothed his hair off of his forehead, afraid to look lower than his face. His ragged breath pushed through his barely open lips. “Jorgen, please.”
The tears flowed and she didn't try to stop them or hold them back. She had caused this. If she had never gone with the queen, she never would have met Egan, never would have ended up here. They would both be tucked safely in her cabin, dreaming of being apprentices. Above her the barred metal door slammed shut, sending dirt raining down on her.
She leaned over him, brushing her lips across his as she muttered, “I’m sorry.”
An explosion rocked the earth and dirt sprayed down across her neck and back filling up the space behind her. Throwing a quick glance over her shoulder, she saw Egan, staring towards the outer wall.
The sound of stone and metal sliding into mounds of rubble echoed above her head and Egan was gone. The earth rumbled around her and shadowy figures blocked out what light there was.
“I'm here,” she said, shielding Jorgen as best she could. She touched her forehead to his. A small sigh escaped his mouth and he did not draw in breath again. She bent close wrapping her arms around his body. Without Jorgen her life meant very little. Maybe she should just give up. How hard would it be to get Egan to finally finish her? At least the pain would stop.
Something bit into her side and she sat up rubbing the waistband of her pants. Her fingers tingled as they brush over the flat hard disks Tahlulah had sewn into the waistband of her underpants. Three coins. Sorrel put her face in her hands and wept until her chest ached. After a long while she whispered to the darkness, “I don’t know what to do Jorgen. You have wake up and tell me what to do.”
Sparks glittered in front of her eyes—red, green and blue. It seemed like forever since she’d had a vision, since she’d been harnessed. Images bloomed inside her mind—a stark building with black fortress like walls. Its energy sapped the breath from her. Blood seeped from the mortar and Raemah appeared before her, haggard and gaunt thinner than any living person should be.
“I'm still here Sorrel,” Raemah’s high sweet voice echoed around her. “Please don’t leave me here.”
Faces she'd never seen before flooded her mind each one calling her name. Begging her to help them.
When her vision cleared, she knew what she had to do. She stroked Jorgen’s matted hair as she spoke, “I’m—I’m sorry, but I have to leave you now. Raemah is still out there and I promise you. I will find her, and I will take care of her. The same way you always took care of me.” She choked on the last word and leaned in kissing his forehead.
It took a moment of struggle to get free of the dirt that had fallen on her and trapped her legs. When she did, she turned in a circle, surveying what was left of the pit. One wall had crumbled, forming an incline and the cell d
oor was now angled precariously. It was steep but so was the mountain where she’d grown up. Before she could do anymore fighting though, she needed two things, a way to get out and a weapon.
She ripped the stitching of her waistband where Tahlulah had helped her hide the coins made with Egan’s blood. If she ever met him again, she would kill him. She bounced one of the coins in her hand. It was a good weight and would make a nice climbing spike. It didn’t take her long to fashion two of the coins into four thin metal spikes.
The skin of her palms hummed with energy and she stuck the first spike into the incline and willed it to anchor into the rocky, sandy soil. She moved up a foot at a time, climbing the sharp plane. Twice she lost her footing and slipped back down, rolling head over butt until she landed on her back. By the time she made it to the top the sky was starting to lighten and pink and gray tendrils streaked across the indigo.
Her hand brushed against the iron cell door. It was just metal. Nothing special or damaging about it. She wrapped her fingers around one of the bars and pushed with all her might, but could barely raise it an inch. The earth shook again, hard and fast and loud booming sounds came from close by. Sorrel lost her footing, and she clung to the cell door. The heavy metal began to slide its way down into the pit, pushing her along with it.
“No!” she screamed, willing the metal to obey her and to dig into the dirt wall. If she could not gain command of it, and it fell on top of her, she had no doubt it would kill her. “No!”
The door slipped a few more feet before finally stopping. When the earth no longer rumbled, she tried again to open the door, this time using her full affinity. Sweat trickled down her back as she tried again, lifting the heavy door one last time. There was just enough room to get her body through and she shimmied between the opening and the wall. Another explosion nearby, rocked the ground, and the iron door clamped down on her hand almost crushing her fingers. She screamed but somehow found the strength to lift it just enough to pull her fingers from beneath the weight of the heavy barred door.