by A N Martin
~16~
A DEAL
Dominaze’s arms throbbed under the grip of those holding her. They’d been carrying her for hours without rest and she was sure she had bruises. As they walked, the air finally warmed up and Dominaze’s muscles began to relax.
Bain’s whiny voice called from behind, “Hey Adora, who turned off the air conditioning?” He laughed like he was making a joke.
A piercingly high-pitched voice came from ahead of Dominaze. “Keep talking Bain and I’ll freeze your lips together.”
Bain didn’t say more but Dominaze was sure she heard him snickering to himself. At last they stopped walking and she was tossed to the ground.
“Stay,” a deep voice ordered.
Her eyes were still shadowed and she couldn’t see where she was. She felt the ground around her. It was dry, and crumbled under her fingers. Her body yearned for her strip to be placed back into her empty slit. Then she would have been able to feel her entire surroundings, never having to open her eyes, but she didn’t dare try. Instead she listened carefully.
There were crickets chirping and the air was cooling, so she was sure the sun was setting. There was popping from a fire burning not too far away. She listened, but couldn’t understand the whispered conversations in the distance. Nothing she could hear or feel gave her any clue as to where she was. A group of footsteps approaching made her tense.
Thora’s voice tried to sound friendly. “Dominaze dear, where is your strip?”
Dominaze spoke through her teeth, “Why do you care?”
“It’s important that we find it.”
“What do you want with it?”
“Oh, it’s not what we want with it.” Thora placed her hand on Dominaze’s shoulder. “It’s what the Elect want with it that we cannot let happen.”
“The Elect want my strip?”
Thora stood. “Believe it or not, your imprinting as the Demon Print has become a sort of long-anticipated shortcut for the Elect. Rather inconvenient for us and everyone else, though.” She took a deep breath. “Yes, they want your strip, Dominaze. Your all-powerful, limitless strip. It’s the very weapon they’ve been waiting for. For years they have monitored the imprinting facility waiting for a Demon Print to be born, just so they could take their strip. But as time went on they grew impatient and have resorted to trying to create their own. It’s the very reason for so many vulnerations. They’re collecting strips and trying to bind them together,” Thora spat at the ground. “The Elect think they need more authority, your authority. They will stop at nothing until they get it.” Thora bent down to Dominaze. “We must keep it from them.”
Dominaze blinked at the shadows that covered her eyes. “Kyro said he needed my help to bring back balance.”
Thora laughed. “Well I guess you would be helping them if you were to voluntarily hand your strip over to them. That would make everything easier for them. But they have no plans of keeping you around after they have what they want.”
“What good is my strip to them? Do strips not only work with their original Prints.”
“Yes…usually….but your strip is all authority. Meaning the Elect believe it can bind with them and they can control all authority themselves, leaving nothing for the rest of the Prints of Domicile to do but submit to them. It would be their way or the highway.”
“Okay fine, I’ll do what I can to help keep it from them.”
Thora took Dominaze’s hand. “I wish it were that simple, but we don’t trust you to do that forever. Give us the strip and we’ll see to it that they never get it.”
“What?” Dominaze pulled away. “I’m not just going to give it to you.”
Thora leaned closer. “As dangerous as it is with you, I cannot ignore what would happen if the Elect were to ever get possession of it. I ask again, where is your strip?”
“Gone.”
“Don’t lie to us, Demon. The Elect will hunt you until they get it, or they’ll continue to commit vulnerations until they figure out how to create their own. Are you so selfish that you won’t give up what endangers us all?”
Dominaze shook her head. There was a sudden sting on her cheek and she knew Thora had slapped her.
“You selfish Demon. I should have expected nothing less.” Thora paced back and forth in front of Dominaze. Finally she paused and bent down so Dominaze could feel her breath on her face. “This is happening with or without your cooperation. You could have worked alongside us. Now, all you’ll be is collateral damage. Once we’re done with you there will be no reason to keep you alive.”
Dominaze shrank a bit. “What are you going to do?”
Thora’s words were sharp. “You lost the privilege of knowing when you lost your strip, Demon. Instead, I grant you nothing but a cold and dark future as you live the rest of your days here.” She stood and turned from Dominaze. “Adora! Bain! Be sure to make Dominaze as comfortable as you can while she’s here.”
Bain snickered from somewhere behind Thora. The shadows that covered Dominaze’s eyes seemed to thicken. As the dark solidified, the air grew frigid around her. She wrapped her arms around herself and she began to shiver.
Thora touched Dominaze’s icy shoulder. “We’ll leave you to your thoughts, Demon.”
The footsteps around her receded and she was left alone. At least she thought she was alone. The temptation to put her strip back into her slit was strong, but what if someone were watching her? Goosebumps covered her body as the cold air penetrated the thin layer of clothing she had on. She felt around and found a larger rock to her side. Leaning against it, she prepared herself for what was sure to be a miserable night.
“You’re either incredibly brave or a complete imbecile.”
Dominaze jumped at the high-pitched voice standing over her. She recognized it as the one Bain had teased earlier.
“Let me guess—Adora?” Dominaze looked toward the voice. “Are you the reason for the sudden freeze in temperature?”
“Adora Hummington actually, and yes. I’m Thora’s younger sister and Bain is our older brother, though he now has the mentality of a child, another gift from your daddy.”
Dominaze leaned back and closed her eyes. “What do you want?”
“Nothing you haven’t already refused.” Adora sat next to Dominaze. “But I don’t give up as quickly as my sister does.”
“Well your affectionate sister has an interesting way of convincing someone to work with her.”
Adora shrugged. “That’s because she hates you.”
“Oh, gee, thanks.”
“She has to. She was sent to Kyro to fulfill a revenge mission. Thora isn’t a killer at heart. She had to place you in the darkest place of her heart so she could hurt Kyro the way he hurt us.”
“Well that’s too bad, but I haven’t changed my mind.” Dominaze shivered violently.
Adora stiffened. “I may have a selfish heart of ice, but even I can see that your selfish act will have thousands killed.”
Dominaze’s teeth chattered. “It’s not my intention to let anyone get hurt or die. I’ve been given no reason to trust you and the Cut-Throats over the Elect. So, forgive me for not cooperating.” She shut her eyes and tried to think warm thoughts and hoped Hemrick would be here soon to save her.
Adora whispered through clenched teeth, “Your authority is going to destroy my people. As soon as the Elect get their hands on it there will be nothing anyone can do. Even my cold heart feels the pain in that. ”
“Well, your so-called people just ran me out of Caba and kidnapped me, so I have a hard time caring.”
“The Cut-throats aren’t my people. My people live in the Arctic City.”
“Well, if they’re in so much trouble why are you here instead of there?”
“I left as soon as Thora told me a Demon was born,” Adora huffed. “I left to find the very thing you’re keeping from us to prevent the destruction of my people. The Elect will stop at nothing until they find yo
u and make us and so many others suffer and crumble. Their idea of a balanced world doesn’t include most of us. Do you think any of the Manick groups or even the Humans will be safe if the Elect are able to exercise complete authority over everything?” Adora focused her icy chills down Dominaze’s spine, making her shiver. “Your Demon strip is evil. You imprinting this way has threatened us all. Our destruction is eminent. If it doesn’t come from the Elect, it’s only a matter of time before you turn into a manipulative Demon and do it yourself.”
Dominaze shook her head. “From the moment I imprinted this way, I’ve been told how dangerous and hated I am, that I’m wanted dead or my strip will be used for mass destruction. No one but Hemrick believes I can do good.”
Adora laughed, amused. “A Demon Print do good?”
“Yes, actually.” Dominaze sat up straight and squared her shoulders as best as she could. “That is what I want to do. Is it so hard to believe that I could help someone instead of hurt them?”
Adora laughed, but fell silent as she processed the idea of Dominaze actually being able to help.
Dominaze leaned forward, “You said the Elect would destroy your people with my strip. But what if I were there to fight with you? What if you had the Demon Print fighting for your people?”
Adora was quiet, so Dominaze continued.
“Unless you think you really can take on the Elect yourselves. I mean it sounds like you have it pretty well under control.”
Adora stood. “I will not be tricked into making a deal with you. Demon Prints are conniving and selfish.”
Dominaze leaned back and mumbled just loud enough for Adora to hear, “I’m not the one with a heart made of ice.” She took a deep breath between her chattering teeth. “Look, if you don’t want my help that’s fine, but know this: my offer to help comes at a price, one that you may find impossible to meet.”
“Enlighten me,” Adora huffed as she sat.
“Well, you would have to make sure I stay alive. Something I’m struggling to do on my own,” Dominaze smirked. “I realize my authority is limitless and wanted by everyone, whether it’s to manipulate or destroy it. That being said, I am not trained to control it neither am I trained to defend myself. So, if you were to want my help you have to help keep me alive and keep my strip safe. I need to get back to Hemrick and I need to train. Then I could fight for your people. After all, there’s a little bit of ice in my heart, too, right? Wouldn’t that make your people my people, too?”
Adora was quiet as she stood and paced back and forth. Finally she stopped, “I can’t make a deal with the devil and expect to get what I want.”
“Do I look like the devil to you?” Dominaze turned her face up into the darkness, her heart pounding. “I didn’t ask to imprint this way. It’s not like I had a choice. But it is my choice how I use my authority. I just want the chance to show everyone that I’m not bad, but I can’t do that with everyone constantly attacking me. I’m not going to sit here trying to convince you I can help. So either agree now that you will help me stay alive and get me out of here and I will fight for your Arctic City, or leave me to freeze in peace.”
Again there was silence. Not even a movement from Adora. Dominaze shrank back against the rock and continued to shiver violently. She wanted to cry in frustration of who she was, but refused to in front of Adora.
Without warning the frigid air vanished and warmth once again wrapped itself around Dominaze. Confused, she turned to where she had last heard Adora’s movements.
“You better not make me regret this.” Adora’s voice was so quiet, “I’ll keep you alive and get you out, but my sister has to believe I am still on board with her plans. I will have to play along with her for quite some time so that she doesn’t suspect anything. Only then can I safely help you escape.”
“Deal.” Dominaze rubbed the goose bumps from her arms.
“You may hate your decision to live. It’s not going to be easy.”
“My deal still stands.” Dominaze nodded in the darkness. “Keep me alive and get me back to Hemrick and I will fight next to you against the Elect.”
“This better work.” Adora sat and shook her head in disbelief.
Dominaze relaxed as her body finished warming up. She whispered toward Adora, “Do you know who Director White is?”
“No. Why?” She didn’t really sound interested.
“I just saw a letter written to him.”
“What did it say?” Adora asked flatly.
“It talked about the attacks and vulnerations increasing and mentioned the Elect were working on creating a weapon.”
“That’s stuff everyone already knows. Who wrote it?”
Dominaze shrugged, “It just said T. S.”
“T. S.?” Adora shrugged. “Could be anyone. Who has the letter?”
“Brike.”
“Oh.” Adora let out a breath of disappointment.
“What’s wrong?”
“Letters like that usually have hidden messages in them, and since that is information this Director White guy most likely already knows, I bet there’s a hidden message in it.”
Dominaze nodded. “So what’s the problem?”
Adora slumped back. “There’s no way we could get it from Brike. Anything in his possession is untouchable.”
Dominaze laughed. “Clearly that’s not true. I was able to get the letter and read it myself without a problem.”
Adora was suddenly intrigued. “What did you use as a distraction?”
“I knocked him out.”
Adora was silent.
“With a rock,” Dominaze added.
“You…knocked out Brike…with a rock?”
“Yes.”
“Well that’s unlikely to happen again, so still not helpful.”
Dominaze sat taller. “You don’t think I could do it again?”
“Nope.”
Dominaze pursed her lips. “I could do it. I’m sure being raised in The Keep gives some advantage over someone who’s only lived in Domicile.” She smiled smugly.
“Brike wasn’t raised in Domicile.”
“What?” Dominaze glared blindly at Adora
“Yeah, he was raised in The Keep, too. His mother had him prematurely, immediately after her vulneration and then died. The Elect and Elders assumed that since his mother’s strip was pulled just before he was born that he was a Human baby and adopted him into a Manick family in The Keep. Now they know that births caused by vulnerations are usually still Print babies.”
Dominaze stared into the blackness that covered her eyes. “So how did they find out he wasn’t Human?”
Adora grew quiet. “Well, they didn’t until it was too late.”
“What happened?”
“When Brike unexpectedly imprinted on the night of his fifteenth birthday, he burned down his parents’ home. No one escaped the inferno that erupted from him that night.”
Dominaze shook her head. “His parents died?”
“And his three younger Human siblings.”
“That’s awful.” Guilt filled Dominaze as she realized the pain she had forced Brike to relive.
Adora squirmed, “Well, it gets worse. The more Brike panicked, the more his fire grew and the hotter he got. The entire town he lived in burst into flames and everyone was killed instantly in their sleep. Rocks melted and fire lit up the sky. The Humans explained it as a hidden dormant volcano that awoke and scorched the town.”
“So who found him?”
“The Elect, of course.” Adora rolled her eyes. “The sudden heat burst from Brike was felt in Domicile too and they went to investigate. He was quickly recognized as the most powerful Fire Print alive and there wasn’t a Print that bet against him becoming the Elect of Fire.”
“Why did he step down?”
“Some say he was forced to for doing something terrible, but that doesn’t make sense seeing as the Elect let him wander freely. Others say
he refused the position after a dispute with the other Elects. Everything he does now is kept quiet and the Elect hate it. They haven’t been able to accuse him of anything to lock him up, but they’re not dumb. They know he’s up to something.”
Dominaze looked blindly at the sky. “Like forming a group to rise against the Elect?”
Thora’s voice startled Dominaze. “Adora, what are you doing?” Her approaching footsteps sounded angry. “You’re supposed to be freezing the demon, not enjoying conversation.”
The air around Dominaze suddenly dropped and once again she shivered violently.
Adora stood and snapped, “Don’t accuse me of being soft sister. We both know my ice-filled heart is too cold to care for anyone.”
Thora huffed, “Another reason not to trust you.” She approached Adora. “Your selfishness can ruin everything. We have a plan and you better care enough to see it through to the end.”
Footsteps retreated and it was silent for a moment before Adora spoke again.
“My heart may be too cold to love, but I will save my home in the Arctic. The Elect are threatened by the ice and are endangering my city. If you promise to help me, I promise to make sure you’re not killed here.”
Dominaze shivered under the freezing air that covered her. “I don’t know what you expect me to do, but if you keep me alive I will do what I can and I will fight with you for your home.”
Once again the air grew warm.
“We have a deal then. I will keep you alive in return for your help.”
“Yes.”
Adore leaned in. “Done. No amount of begging for death can change it.”
Dominaze didn’t want the responsibility of fighting to save lives, but she wasn’t blind to the hurt the Elect were causing so many. If living meant more lives could be saved, than she had to be willing to do what she could. Maybe turning herself in was the wrong thing to do. “Done.”
~17~
ROCKWELL TOWERS
“Speak up dear, just as we rehearsed.” Thora’s voice sounded kind. It made Dominaze’s skin crawl and the urge to lunge at her was almost unbearable.
Dominaze flexed her jaw and spoke through her teeth. “My name is Dominaze Pierce. I am the Demon Print.” She felt like a broken record. She had lost count of how many times Thora had made her repeat the same words over and over again until she was sure Dominaze would say them right while in front of a camera. “I am being held captive by the Cut-Throats. The Cut-Throat leaders request a private audience with the Elect to negotiate a trade: me and my strip in return for complete freedom and choice of land.” Dominaze swayed in her seat. She tried to remember the last time she ate. Swallowing, she continued. “The exchange will take place at the abandoned towers of Rockwell, on the first day of winter, when the sun is at its lowest. If there are any signs of you being accompanied by your armies or others, the trade will be terminated without future negotiations. The Cut-Throats thank you for your cooperation.”