“That’s hilarious. Either this isn’t the power the Kreons are seeking, or it’s very confused. I’m just an orphan who thought she could raise her brother in the wilderness. Now look at me. Princess of the dirt.” I point behind me at my cell.
I spin around to glance behind me. I forgot I was talking right in front of the girls. To my relief they’re all passed out on their mats. I smile and take a deep breath to calm my pulse.
I turn back to Masi. His head is tilted and his large eyes are watching me.
“So now what? And how do I hide it?”
“I think as long as you stay calm, you’ll get away with it for a while. At least until Elan can get you out of here.”
“You heard him?”
He nods.
“You’ll need to be more careful during the daytime. If the guards suspect anything they’ll bring down the artifact experts.”
They have artifact experts? I lean my head against the cool metal bars. “I’m not sure how to hide this forever, Masi. I may be able to cover my hands and arms, but they’ll notice if I cover my face.”
“You do have a brightness in your eyes that wasn’t there before. I don’t think the sentinels will notice, but your fellow humans might.”
I remember Elan staring at me, and frown.
“I think some of them already have.”
“Do you know what he’s planning?”
I shake my head. “I think those explosions opened an escape tunnel or something. But other than that I have no idea.”
My eyelids are heavy, and a dull throbbing pain is radiating through my elbow and ankle. I stifle a yawn with one hand, while peering between the bars into the darkness.
“I’ve had enough excitement for one day,” I say finally. “We’d better get some sleep.”
Masi nods. “Sleep well.” He lifts his helmet over his head and clasps it tightly around his neck. The shiny chrome projection is swallowed up by shadows as he pulls farther away from the bars.
I’m about to move away when I hear his voice in the darkness.
“You don’t need to be scared of me, Rya.”
“The Kreon has taken over the whole world,” I chuckle softly.
“You are exactly who I should be scared of.”
I pull my arms back through the bars and go lay down next to Claryce. It doesn’t take my mind or body long to relax and fall into a deep sleep.
***
I’m standing on a balcony, looking out across fields of grain, illuminated by two moons in the purple sky. There’s smoke in the air and a foul, acrid scent wafting from the battlefield on the horizon. The scenes are fleeting, shifting like sand. Suddenly I’m riding horses across a field, the folds of my long dress fluttering behind me in the wind. And then, in the dark stillness between a grove of unusual trees, someone is kissing me. I raise my eyes to see large yellow eyes, rimmed with coal, and gold dust sparkling across light blue skin, like stars in the night.
When I wake up, my skin is on fire and I’m sweating. It feels like I’m being stabbed with hot brands. My clothes stick to the sweat against my skin, stifling me. I claw at them, revealing a trail of unusual markings across my shoulder and collarbone, pulsing with energy. I grab a scrap of fabric and rinse it in water, trying to scrub them off, but it only makes the symbols glow brighter, filling the cell with blue light.
Shit. I pull on my clothes again, covering as much skin as possible.
When the yellow warning light flashes I’m up and dressed before most of the girls are even stirring. I tuck my hands into my work gloves and feel my face to make sure it doesn’t feel hot.
Before I get my second glove pulled on I notice that the scrapes and bruises from yesterday are already fading. Thankfully, the yellow compound tattoo and black circle marking my implant are still there. I sigh with relief. There’s no way I could explain it if those disappeared overnight.
I push away the dream fragments that keep cutting into my thoughts. It was probably just all this talk about a princess, and Masi’s stories. Though the vivid detail had made it feel so real. The horses were because of the toy horse we found in the crypt. I tried not to think about what the kissing meant. Only that I was far too lonely and really needed to get my shit together.
As we line up I realize I feel pretty good, all things considering. I flex my arms, noticing the pain in my elbow has reduced as well, and the throbbing from my ankle is completely gone. I smile as I switch my weight from one foot to the other. The light turns green and the guard opens the cell door. My whole body wants to make a run for it. To run up the tunnel and keep going. I feel like I could run straight up the walls.
But I don’t. I clench my hands and wait patiently for my turn at the back of the line. Then it hits me that Janice isn’t here, and I feel like I’m drowning in cold water. Whatever her injuries, they should have been able to heal them with Kreon tech. I’d seen what they could do in the compounds. Unless they didn’t think she was worth saving.
I turn to Edward, daring to tap his metallic shoulder.
“Where’s Janice? Is she all right?” My pulse quickens as I anxiously wait for his response. I see the girls step back toward us as they hear my question. They’re all wondering the same thing.
I feel Masi emerge from his cage behind me as I study the sentinel’s mechanical face. I could swear he’s hesitating on purpose. Behind his face shield the red lights that make up his eyes dim. Is that sadness? Shame?
“She was taken topside. Her human body was too broken.”
A pain flares in my chest. It feels like I’ve been shot by an arrow.
“What does that mean? Will she be treated in one of the compounds?”
Edward’s red eyes flick over to Masi and then back to me. He tightens his grip on his blaster, as if he’s expecting us to give him trouble.
“No,” he says finally. “She’s already dead.”
NINETEEN
THE GIRLS GASP AND SHRINK back, or huddle around me. Some yell, some start crying. Claryce ducks under my arm. I’m so numb I can’t even feel her there. I lock my knees to keep them from shaking, but then I can’t breathe, and I have to force myself to suck in air. It’s all too much, and I can’t pretend to be strong anymore. I drop to my knees and cover my face with my gloved hands.
“I understand you felt responsible for her, but we need to get back to the cavern.” Edward’s voice wavers, but is also louder and more stern than normal. He’s trying to sound in charge, which just makes him seem insecure.
I glare up at him, curling my fingertips. I always felt he had some sort of personality chip, and now I’m sure I was right. Although his body is mechanical, I can tell he’s been programmed with an approximation of feelings. Otherwise he’d be as flippant as usual. Today I hate him for it. If he had a neck, I’d strangle him. He doesn’t get to feel sorry, as if he can sympathize with our plight. He’s just a chunk of weaponized hardware. A mech like him probably tore Janice from her home and tossed her down as grist for the mill.
Masi grabs my arm and leans over me.
“Look away and think calm thoughts. You’re glowing,” he hisses at me.
I allow Masi to help me to my feet and urge the girls quietly to get in line. I rub my eyes, expecting to find tears, but my cheeks are dry. I feel hollow and empty inside. Maybe I’m just a robot too, and my personality chip is busted, and I’m out of lubricant. If only I could be fixed with an oil change and a new battery.
Masi puts his hand briefly on my arm as we walk, guiding me down the narrow path and steep pathway through the tunnels. My feet feel like lead, and more than once I stumble over the uneven floor. Masi catches me and pushes me forward.
“You’re going to have to try to avoid direct contact with others today. And control your emotions.”
“Was it bad?” I ask, tugging my sleeves down to make sure my wrists are covered.
“Not like before. But it was noticeable in your grief.”
<
br /> I grind my teeth and lower my head as we enter the main room. There’s a bit of damage from the explosions yesterday, but otherwise it’s business as always. We get our rations and then wait in line for our tools. Out of my peripheral vision I watch the lines of men going ahead of us. There are more sentinels than usual, and the activity is focused on expanding the small tunnel where we found the doorway. I can hear the sound of drilling and vibrations shake the floor.
I clench my gloved hands tight around the shovel that gets pushed at me, taking short breaths, anxious about where they’ll assign us. I close my eyes and hope they’ll keep us together. I curse myself for not pulling more details out of Elan when I had the chance. If he’d opened up an escape route, the rebels would have to act fast before it was discovered. Were we really escaping today? When? Where? I couldn’t let us be separated, or someone could get left behind.
Someone else, I correct myself. I shouldn’t feel responsible for Janice. There’s nothing I could have done, but my mind twists the truth until I can’t shake the stain of guilt. Elan had come after me and the flash drive, and the explosions were part of an escape plan to get us out. But there’s too much blame to go around, and my anger is fading to a cool hatred of the Kreon and everything they control.
A guard calls our group and I open my eyes to see Edward and another sentinel leading the girls, Masi, and I away from the main cavern. After telling me about Janice I feel like he’s revealed a small part of himself. I wonder if maybe there’s more to him than circuitry; a weakness I can exploit.
We’re led to a long room that has a stone wall partially uncovered. It’s enormous, and a great cavern has exposed the top and corner of an ancient building—a stepped, squarish pyramid of black stone, surrounded by tall obelisks. Drone lights hover above it, under the dome of rock and earth that makes up the ceiling far above. I’ve never been on this side of the mine before. It’s the first time I’ve seen so much of the unearthed structure. I wonder if they’re just keeping us busy or out of the way, until they figure out what to do with us.
The stones are darker and even larger than the entrance we uncovered—but instead of a doorway, these have been blasted apart by the large Kreon machinery.
I want to laugh and cry at the same time. They probably wasted a decade excavating the wrong side, without finding the entrance. When I was three and I stubbed my toe and Mom kissed it better; when I was six and my baby teeth were falling out; when I was nine and Dad was teaching me to hack drones and string traps. The aliens were down here burrowing in their tunnels the whole time.
And I’d found it first.
I stand on the ridge overlooking the ruins, and a gust from a mechanical fan twists my hair into a knot at the base of neck. My auburn curls, once the color of copper, have faded into a dull brown.
There’s a whisper at the edge of my consciousness. Then my vision blurs and the landscape warps in front of me. I get a glimpse, like a time-lapse video, of a thousand generations all at once. Forests, rivers and oceans ebb and flow. I see the temple unburied, prominent on the landscape, with golden capstones that gleam in the sun. Somehow I know the men are digging in the wrong direction, and that a hidden chamber veers off sharply to the right.
I swallow. I’m starting to freak myself out. My eyes land on Masi, who has already started digging alongside the girls. But this time, a few dozen men are also digging here with us. I wish I could talk to him, but there are too many people around. They give a wide berth around Masi, but are still within hearing distance.
I lose myself in work, digging and filling carts until the lunch alarm goes off. The men stab their shovels in the dirt and group together as the guards bring our rations. I don’t recognize their faces. Part of me wishes I’d made more of an effort to socialize, but there are too many miners in the cave, and with the uniforms they all look the same: grisly beards and defeated expressions, covered in a layer of dust and sweat. I herd the girls in the opposite direction and sit them down.
Masi stands alone in the center, holding his shovel.
I get our rations and grab Masi by the arm, dragging him to our side.
“The other humans will judge you for including me,” Masi whispers.
I glance over my shoulder.
The men are looking at us and talking harshly among themselves. I’m pretty sure they’re the same guys Masi beat up earlier, his former cellmates. They’ll want payback, but surrounding him with little girls is keeping them at bay for now.
“I don’t care, I need to talk to you. Besides, they don’t know what you really are.” I point to his helmet.
Masi and I sit at one end of the wall with the girls just a few feet away. They’re not talking amongst themselves like usual. They’re just quietly eating their rations and staring at the ground. Probably thinking of Janice. I frown as I see the flat look in their expressions. I’d entertained them with stories about happily ever after. I should have been more like my father. They didn’t need hope. They need to learn to survive.
In low whispers I tell Masi about the weird thoughts and visions I’ve been having all morning, and the strange dreams. I leave out the part about kissing someone with blue skin. He stays quiet and just listens. I hate the helmet between us and wish he could take it off so I can see his face.
I know that’s impossible. But I’m still grateful that he’s here. I pull my knees up and wrap my arms around them. I feel infected, or defiled somehow, and he’s the only ‘person’ I can talk to about any of this.
“The Lucarite believed in a targat,” he whispers when I finish talking. “What you humans might call a soul. Something that survives death, something eternal, that can be passed on.”
“Like a ghost.”
He nods.
“I hope you don’t mean I’m being haunted by a dead alien princess.”
I picture him smiling behind the mask.
“Not like that, not exactly. But perhaps she saved, pieces of herself, memories she cherished, and trapped them in the blade, in the light of the Vajra. And somehow passed those along to you, with her power.”
I roll my eyes.
“Some power,” I say. “I feel like I’m going crazy. But I need to learn how to control it, how to use it. Dreams and visions aren’t helpful right now, I’ve got to protect myself, and the girls.”
Or get better at hiding it from the Kreon, at least.
“The Kreon, they don’t believe in this targat?” I ask.
“My brother used to say that the Kreon have no religion but commerce.”
There’s sadness in his voice, and I wonder what happened there.
My eyes scan over the massive dig site. Thousands of humans works and machines are digging back into the heart of the tomb we just discovered. But I know they won’t find anything inside, at least not what they want. I just hope Elan manages to come through before the Kreon realize it’s missing.
Large work boots come into my line of vision as they step toe to toe with me. I groan inwardly and slowly look up, expecting one of the guys from the other side of the room.
I’m surprised to see Elan, as if conjured by my thoughts. He wasn’t with the group digging with us this morning. “What are you doing here?” I look around to see if any of the guards are coming back.
He kneels down so he’s eye level with me. He frowns at Masi, who is so close to my side our shoulders are touching.
“Elan, this is Masi,” I say.
“You know its name?” he says.
I uncross my arms and try to stand, but Elan puts a firm hand on my knee.
“Relax, I’m kidding,” he says. “Kind of.”
“I’ll give you a moment alone,” Masi says, standing slowly and moving towards the other end of the tunnel. I sit back down and glare into Elan’s brown eyes.
“What do you want?”
“The guards are searching all of our cells, and the prisoners as well.”
Shit. My heart rac
es and my eyes widen.
“I don’t know what they’re looking for, but you should give me the flash drive. It’s my responsibility, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
I can’t trust him. What if he leaves me behind?
“I think I’ll hold on to it,” I say carefully, “until we’re free.”
He scowls and runs a hand through his dark hair.
“They’ll kill you if they find it on you,” he says.
“Then get us out of here,” I whisper harshly.
He pauses for a moment, his eyes sweeping over the half-buried ruins, then nods.
Out of the corner of my eye I can see that the girls are watching me talking with Elan. They’re far enough away they can’t hear, but they’re smart and know something is up.
“You need to leave before someone sees you, Elan. You’re not even in this work crew, are you? They’ll notice you aren’t where you’re supposed to be.” I raise my arm and shake my wrist, flashing the yellow lines and the circle tattoo on my arm that marks my implant.
“Sit tight. We’re almost ready to get everyone out.”
He squeezes my knee. The gesture is too intimate but I don’t shake him off. I have a feeling Elan’s definition of everyone doesn’t match my own, but I don’t press him this time.
Something is wrong with his voice.
He sounds less confident than usual, and it scares me.
“What are you waiting for?” I ask.
His expression falls. “There was some sort of incident up at the compound, and we lost some of our contacts there. We’re waiting for backup from our safe zone.”
I feel like I have something stuck in my throat. “Tessa? Jamie?” I finally croak out. “Are they all right?”
Elan glances behind him. The guys on the other side are still glaring at us. But so far no guards have taken notice.
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