Flecks of Gold

by Buck, Alicia

  I dropped to my knees. “You’re the one who taught me to keep trying, to never give in to despair. You may have forgotten to pay bills on time, but you never stopped working, and you never gave up your dream to become a renowned painter, even when your boyfriends or our family told you to get a ‘real life.’ ”

  Mom wrapped her arms around me, holding my head against her chest as she smoothed my hair back. “I’m sorry. I guess all this time in captivity’s affected me more than I thought. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on my regrets.”

  I lay against her chest, feeling guilty and regretful myself. Suddenly Mom got up, and I had to catch myself from falling to the ground.

  “So,” she said, looking around the well and placing a hand here and there, hunting for handholds. “How are we going to get out of here? Any ideas?”

  I stared at the ceiling. “I had one, but it’s not very good. Kelteon would be expecting it.

  “Well, it’s better than nothing” she said. “I’m game.” She turned up the wattage of her smile. Behind her grin I still saw a tinge of sadness, but it was almost wholly replaced by a new solidness and determination.

  Mom and I had certainly had our share of battles in the past, but I loved her fiercely. And I knew that just because I was finally with her didn’t mean that I’d saved her yet. A new resolve hardened in my core, driven by the need I’d felt my whole life to protect her.

  “Okay, we’ll try my plan. Sit tight and cover your face when I reach the top.” I jumped up and hugged her shorter frame before I began climbing the wall. My muscles still ached, but all the practice I’d been doing lately was making a difference. I climbed to the ceiling without feeling as out of breath or as trembly as my previous expeditions had left me.

  At the top, I took a deep breath, changed the solid wooden door to a more brittle wood, and kicked it. Splinters rained down to the floor as the door shattered, but I didn’t have time to make sure Mom was all right. I followed the momentum of my kick and burst out of the opening, hoping to catch the guards off-balance.

  I got no further than the well’s rim. A circle of men and women surrounded me, standing shoulder to shoulder, each holding a loaded crossbow aimed directly at my body. I crouched like a cat caught in a car’s headlights, knowing that at any instant I might feel metal-tipped arrows pierce my flesh.

  The line in front of me parted, and Kelteon walked through. It was as if my two-dimensional pencil drawing had ripped from the page and gathered to itself depth and color. If I hadn’t known already that Kelson and the man before me were one and the same, I would have thought this man was Kelson’s dad. His ice-blue eyes crinkled, and his lips curled upward in a sharp hook of cruel amusement.

  “Really, I’m disappointed. I thought you’d be out much sooner,” he drawled.

  “Yeah, well, it’s kind of hard to come up with escape plans when you’re unconscious,” I said, trying to think of a way to overcome thirty people all at once. The situation was definitely looking grim.

  He raised his eyebrows. “Such a touching reunion I heard below. I knew you’d like a little time with your mother. As you can see, she’s alive and well, but that can change very quickly.”

  I felt a burst of rage at the thought of him listening to Mom and me, but my anger was swiftly overshadowed by fear. “You hurt her, and I’ll—” I prepared to blast them all with hurricane-force winds, but Kelteon held up his hand.

  “Think twice before you do anything rash, Mary.” With a lazy flick, he pointed to the roofs of the surrounding buildings. More crossbows peeked over the edges held by men lying flat, nearly invisible.

  “Attempt anything, and you and your mother are dead,” he said with languid unconcern. “As juvenile as your behavior is, you have proven to be a bit slippery. I don’t want to take the chance of losing you again.” His grin felt like insects crawling all over my skin. My thighs started to cramp because of my half crouch, but I didn’t dare even twitch.

  “I have a proposition for you, which is quite generous, considering everything.” His eyes flicked to his guards. As one, they straightened further and readjusted their aim to point at my head. “Have a seat. That can’t be comfortable.”

  I sat on the well’s rim, moving with exaggerated slowness so no bowmen would get trigger happy. I kept my eyes on Kelteon, feeling instinctively that he was a bigger threat than the plethora of snipers.

  “What could you possibly want from me?” I worked hard to keep my voice from trembling and my face from broadcasting my fear. Kelteon’s responding smile was sharklike, and I couldn’t stop myself from shivering.

  “Nothing so terrible. My proposal is this: you consent to letting me put an enchantment lacing on you, and I will refrain from killing your mother.”

  I felt the blood in my face drain away. “Never,” I whispered. My throat had suddenly gone dry.

  “Never? I thought you cared more for your mother than that.”

  My heart thudded painfully in panic; my mind flicked from one idea to another, as if I were some sort of crazed channel surfer. But I could think of no way to get myself and Mom safely out of Kelteon’s grasp.

  “If I let you enchant me, you could order me to kill my mother and there would be no way to stop myself from doing it. Your promise to keep her safe while still imprisoned means nothing.” I tried to say this calmly, but my voice made a betraying squeak at the end.

  The sun blazed down like someone pushing on my shoulders. A trickle of sweat slid into my eyes, but I didn’t lift my hand to wipe it away. As the silence stretched, Kelteon regarded me coolly. He wasn’t sweating at all.

  “You really don’t have a choice, Mary. You either agree to my proposal, or I kill your mother now.” He signaled one of his bowmen to move to the well’s open hole.

  “Stop,” I yelled before the man could take more than two steps. “You come any closer, and I’ll blast you all into oblivion. I don’t care if I’m killed too. And don’t think I can’t do it. I can,” I said in manic fury. Kelteon held up his hand to check the bowman’s progress, and the guard stopped, darting fearful glances my way.

  “It appears that we are at an impasse,” Kelteon said in his annoying languid way. No one moved. I blinked rapidly to get the sweat out of my eyes as flies buzzed brazenly around the heads of men and women who would not move their hands from their bows to swat the insects away.

  “Send my mother unharmed back to Earth, and I will agree to the enchantment lacing.” My insides wrenched in dread, but I couldn’t think of another way to get Mom safely out of Kelteon’s reach.

  “As much as I would love to accommodate you, I cannot. The lacing to your planet was unfortunately destroyed.”

  “I don’t believe you.” I was beginning to hyperventilate. I forced the air to move in and out more slowly so that Kelteon wouldn’t know the despair his statement caused me.

  “Believe it or not, it is quite true. The traitor who destroyed them certainly discovered the mistake he made in crossing me.” Kelteon smiled again, but the upward hooks on his lips made the gesture a nightmarish parody.

  “Then it appears we are at an impasse,” I mocked him in an effort to control my fear and hopelessness. Kelteon’s creepy smile transformed to a scowl. I could see crossbows beginning to dip as the bowmen’s muscles strained, and we all quietly fried in the sun for another minute.

  “Sitting here doesn’t do either of us any good,” Kelteon snapped. Then he took a breath and smoothed his glower back to icy disregard. “Why don’t we agree to a compromise?”

  “I’m listening.” I tensed and readied for treachery.

  “King Verone is outside the city with his measly army of goons. I’ll give your mother to them unharmed if you remain with me and submit to my lacing.”

  “I have to see her get to them safely. And you have to give me your word that you will never order me to hurt her or anyone else after I’ve been enchanted.”

  “Done.”

  Kelteon stared at me with lazy
confidence, and I realized with a jolt of panic how powerless I would be to enforce my demands once I was under his will. Every nerve screamed at the thought of being in Kelteon’s control, so I tried to focus instead on the fact that Mom would finally be safely out of Kelteon’s hands, even if I wasn’t.

  If dying would have won her freedom and safety, I would much rather have died. But even if I managed to kill all the soldiers around me, there were too many others still in Kerln, and Mom would still be stuck at the bottom of a well.

  Kelteon signaled two of his men to lower a rope with a woven seat on the end for Mom to sit on. I yelled down, “Don’t worry, Mom. Sit on the rope chair. It’ll be okay.” I prayed fervently that I was telling the truth.

  I heard an uncertain, “Okay,” from below and darted my attention back and forth between Kelteon and the men hauling Mom up out of the well. When her head popped through the opening, I struggled to flash a reassuring smile while keeping one eye trained on Kelteon for any suspicious movements that might be signals.

  He stood serenely still until Mom was standing solidly on the other side of the well from me. I moved toward her.

  “Stop, Mary. I’m sure you’ll understand, but I must keep you two completely surrounded until our transaction is complete, strictly to prevent anything from disrupting our business agreement, of course.” Half of Kelteon’s archers circled me. The other half surrounded Mom.

  “I heard what you agreed to, and I won’t stand for it.” Mom’s voice was furious. “You let my daughter go, and I will stay.”

  “I’m afraid you are of no further use to me.” Kelteon signaled his soldiers to herd us forward. I heard Mom sob once before she got control of herself, and I realized that her furious demand had been a mask for desperation. I knew she felt as driven to protect me as I did her. I couldn’t see her. Too many people were corralling around us, blocking my view.

  “Don’t worry, Mom. Everything will be okay,” I lied. She didn’t reply.

  The trip to the front gates was frustratingly slow due to the difficulty of keeping a perfect formation around me while walking and pointing arrows at my face. I thought with a grim humor that if someone gave these people some gum to chew, they might all be undone. Kelteon strolled behind my circle, and I felt his sharp eyes glued to my back like a chilly breeze. I was sure he was watching closely for any magical moves.

  When we reached the stairs to the top of the wall, several soldiers went ahead of me, climbing the steps backward so they could keep the bows aimed at my heart, while some came behind. As soon as we were out of the passageway and onto the wall, they molded themselves around me once more until Kelteon and Mom arrived in a circle of guards.

  I couldn’t see over the wall from my position because of the bodies surrounding me and the waist-high stone railing used to protect the defenders of the city from arrows and other projectiles. I wondered briefly if the true citizens of Kerln had even had the chance to use their wall to defend themselves against Kelteon before he and his army took over.

  “Lower her over the side,” Kelteon commanded. I tried to look through my captors as the ropes that were used in the well were brought forward and Mom was forced back into the woven seat.

  “Mary, I’m so sorry,” she sobbed as she strained to see through her guards and mine. My cheeks were wet, my vision blurry. I tried to wipe my eyes clear so I could keep track of her for as long as possible.

  “It’s not your fault, Mom. It’s my choice. Run straight to the king’s camp when you’re on the ground, okay?” I tried to keep my voice steady as she was lowered out of my sight. “Tell them not to try and rescue me. It’s really important that they realize I’ll be a danger to them now.” If I live, I added silently.

  I turned to Kelteon in helpless anger. “Part of our agreement was that I would get to see my mother make it safely to the king, but I can’t see a thing at this angle or through these people.”

  “As you wish. Just remember not to do anything rash. Your mother is still in my bowmen’s range, as are you.”

  The soldiers moved closer en masse to the wall’s edge, letting me see. Mom was out of the rope seat and moving away from the barrier as quickly as she could with bare feet. Beyond her, a group of about a hundred people were camped out of Kelteon’s range.

  They were too far away to distinguish faces, not that I would know anybody but the king, the training general, and Breeohan. But even as I thought of Breeohan, I realized he must have made it to the king in time to warn them not to walk blindly into Kerln

  Mom had been pointed out by the group. As she got closer, I saw the men on guard act swiftly. With military precision, they formed a tight line, postures tense with bows at the ready. When Mom saw the hostility of the group, she slowed and put her hands up in the air.

  One of the men in line lowered his bow. He must have called something to the other men because all the others followed suit. Then that man began to walk toward Mom. I didn’t need to see his face; I knew that smooth gait. Breeohan approached her and bowed graciously before offering his arm to escort her the rest of the way to the king’s camp. She must have said something as they walked because Breeohan suddenly whipped around to look back at the wall. For a moment I thought he saw me, but then I was dragged back out of sight by one of Kelteon’s soldiers.

  I jerked my arm out of his grip, but froze as crossbows swung in my direction.

  “I believe I have held up my end of the bargain, Mary. Your turn,” Kelteon said.

  Bile rose to my throat. I couldn’t control the shaking that coursed through my body. I shook my head and waited for the blow of an arrow to my heart.

  “You wouldn’t be thinking about going back on our bargain now, would you?” Kelteon asked. He nodded to one of his men. An arrow thudded into my thigh and pain shot through me. I struggled not to fall down.

  “You may take it out and heal yourself if you like, but the longer you take to give me your permission, the more arrows will riddle your limbs,” he said with the appearance of boredom.

  “Kill me then. I’d rather break my word and die than be controlled by you,” I snapped. Mom was safe. That’s all that matters now, I thought.

  A look of malicious glee replaced his boredom. “Oh, I won’t kill you, but what I will do will make you wish for death, while ever keeping it out of reach. We had a deal, and I intend for you to keep it.” He nodded. An arrow punched through the muscle of my other thigh.

  I pulled out both arrows with a gasp and healed myself only to have another rip through my calf. A scream tore out my mouth, and I panted for a few breaths before I could concentrate enough to fix it. I waited for the next arrow to strike.

  What happened next was no arrow. I saw the flash of the lacing that Rafan had used to hide the blindfold lacing from my magical sight, but this time there was no blindfold. Instead, pain lanced through my legs in waves of agony. I was burning. I saw my pant legs falling to ash and felt my flesh slowly crisping and melting away. I collapsed to the ground, screaming. The burning intensified, and my world narrowed to agony as my legs seared torturously, long past the point all nerve cells should have been destroyed. It was impossible to think beyond the pain. I tried to form the fire lacing in my head, but the cooking of my muscles shattered the pattern before it was fully constructed.

  Finally, hardly thinking of what I said, I shrieked, “I’ll do anything, anything! I give you my permission, please make it stop, make it stop!” My voice broke, and I sobbed silently through a throat gone hoarse. The heat ceased, but my legs still smoked.

  “Very good.” Through a haze that extended even to my mind, I saw Kelteon hide the enchantment lacing before he plucked it to life. My world narrowed and squashed, and Kelteon seeped into my mind like freon. Where his mind touched, my will froze, and was replaced by his. I fought for control, but the effort was as effective as pushing a mountain to make it move. In the end I scrambled to hide all that was left of myself, cramming into a small corner of my head. From my hiding pl
ace I discovered all I could do was observe through my own eyes as Kelteon directed my magic to heal my legs and then stand. I felt my face smile at Kelteon as his thoughts commanded it. He didn’t even have to speak to order my every move. My will was his.

  Chapter 21

  I fought to shriek, to run, to make the smile on my face turn to a frown, but I found myself walking over to Kelteon and posing in a flirtatious manner. Kelteon slowly looked me over. My head moved down to survey my pants which were now no more than blackened mini shorts. My legs were smooth and unblemished with no sign that they’d been lumps of burnt flesh only moments before.

  You pervert, I yelled in my mind. All the soldiers that had surrounded me were now ranged along the wall, surveying the king’s camp and pointedly looking away from Kelteon and me. I noticed that one woman soldier didn’t succeed in repressing a shudder, and I wished I could shudder too. But even subconscious physical responses were denied me.

  “Come with me. We need to get you better clothing and some shoes. I also have someone I’m sure wishes to see you again,” Kelteon said. He turned, and I watched from the little corner of my mind as my body followed Kelteon down the winding stairs to a building within sight of the wall. The door opened before Kelteon reached it, and we walked through to find Rafan holding the handle. He closed the door behind us. I wished heartily I could spit in Rafan’s face, but I only stopped and stood meekly beside Kelteon.

  “I believe you found out that Rafan has been on my side since your, let’s see, second-to-last escape attempt. I thought it would be fun for my two puppets to face each other’s strings, so to speak.”

  I struggled to understand Kelteon’s meaning. He looked like a cat who’d succeeded in eating a pet fish from under its owner’s nose.

  “It’s been such a pleasure spending so much time with you, Mary,” Kelteon continued, “watching you struggle to understand the machinations of court politics, running to find me in the flesh while never realizing that I was by you at every turn, within Rafan.”