Game of Survival

by T R Tells

  “Your . . . god? Who is your god?”

  Again, the boy did not speak and just stared at Thea. She started to feel a presence that she knew was not from the cold.

  “He will. Restore everything. To its glory. He is. The one who. Fathered Cryptids. And will spare. Those who were. Victimized. She stepped closer to him — they were about a foot apart now.

  Either kill him or get away from him, Thea, the angry voice grumbled in her head.

  Leave her alone, the motherly voice replied. The two continued their bickering over what they thought she should be doing with this boy.

  “You’re Roma? Am I not the last one?”

  The boy smiled, a smile that made Thea cringe with disgust. His teeth had a yellow enamel and his gums were black like he had drunk tar. The smile also seemed unnatural, like it was something he didn’t often do, and there was no warmth in it.

  “There are more like us, Thea. When I first saw you in the marketplace, I knew we had to meet again . . . Our God wants you.”

  Thea’s skin crawled in disgust, and she backed away from him in alarm. She contemplated yielding to the angry voice’s demand to kill the boy. As soon as that thought crossed her mind, the angry voice began cooing in encouragement.

  “How do you know my name?”

  The boy stepped closer to Thea, leaving only a few inches between them.

  “I don’t know . . . My God knows all. It wants you, Thea. Your magic has not come to fruition yet, but I can feel its power,” the boy cooed out the words slowly; it was one of the first things he’d said that didn’t sound jerky or forced, which worried Thea. She watched as he licked his bottom lip slowly, looking at her with hunger.

  “You will be the perfect sacrifice . . .”

  Thea’s eyes widened. The boy lunged at her, moving at an incredible speed. She screamed and stretched out her hand on instinct, not sure what to do, but praying that she could levitate the boy away. The dagger in her hand was forgotten and she couldn’t hear the voices reminding her of it in her terror. She crouched down with her eyes shut, waiting for the boy to rip her apart, but no one had their hands around her throat.

  She slowly opened her eyes and yelped as she fell backward.

  The boy froze, his body immobile, and nothing moved except for his eyes that looked around wildly. His arms stretched out to strangle Thea by the throat. His eyes bugged out of their sockets making him look even more crazed, and his open mouth exposed his black tongue.

  My magic, it worked again. She looked down at her hands, she expected something odd to appear from them, like magic, but they looked the same as always.

  The sound of gurgling brought her back to the present, but because she had broken from her concentration, a swift movement passed by her vision. The boy’s weight collided with her and pressed her down into the ground. Her head slammed against the hard surface, which prevented Thea from screaming out as she bit her tongue, silencing her.

  I told you to kill him. You should have listened. Your magic is pathetic, you can’t rely on it to fix everything, the angry voice sounded more annoyed than mad.

  The taste of metallic blood slid down her throat.

  She felt hands around her throat and looked into the sickly eyes of the crazed boy. Thea tried to pry his hands off her throat, but his fingers never budged. The vision is coming true. He’s going to kill me because I wanted to talk to him instead of killing him, Thea thought to herself.

  The man in the vision had orange hair, idiot; the mocking voice reminded her.

  Maybe, next time you’ll listen when I tell you to kill someone, the angry voice snarled at her.

  -If there is a next time, the mocking voice finished cruelly.

  The boy continued to squeeze his hands around her neck, leaning into Thea so his thick, warm breath lingered around the base of her ear.

  “Middilgard, Thea . . . will soon cease to exist . . . my god, our god will swallow the world. Starting with Kings—” The boy’s words were suddenly cut off, and the grip around Thea’s neck loosened.

  When she looked at the boy, she noticed that he glared at her, but a silver tipped blade was stuck out of his mouth. Thea’s eyes drifted upward to see who had slain the boy.

  “Jiran?” Thea dryly said. The look on his face was cold, as he forced the blade into the boy’s jugular with a hard thrust. Crimson blood splattered on Thea’s face as the boy’s body went slack. The images that entered her mind reminded her of Hel’s killing spree, that seemed so far away now. The sight of blood triggered images of dead Kingsland Guards to appear in her mind. Their eyes were fearful and in shock, their mouths opened agape, mid-scream, as dried black blood oozed out of their mouths. She braced for the excruciating pain from the side of her head and she grasped it. Thea grit her teeth as she pushed the thoughts away from her mind, bringing her back to reality.

  Jiran lifted the boy from her legs and tossed him off. His eyes were wide and frantic; his hands trembled as he wrapped his arms around her protectively. Jiran brushed his hand against the back of Thea’s head as a parent would do to comfort a scared child. Thea squeezed her arms around Jiran’s neck and tightly closed her eyes, glad that she was safe in his arms. The body of the boy moved slightly, and his head slowly turned to the two embracing one another. cataracts in his eyes glowed, like animals, before his body crumbled to dust.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Thea couldn’t sleep on the way back to Kingsland; she was far too shaken up by the mysterious boy from the Sons of Samuel. She didn’t know how his God had heard about her or why he wanted her to be a sacrifice—a sacrifice to what? She didn’t know. She could still see his face in her mind and couldn’t shake the feeling that they were more than the Sons of Samuel boy calling out to her. It was almost as if someone, or something else, might have been watching her. She was afraid that herself or Jiran wouldn’t be able to stop whatever lurked in the shadows.

  Jiran didn’t know what to do about Thea, he continued to look over at beside him as she hadn’t done much more than but stare blankly at the floor of the wagon. She didn’t even rub the serrated tooth at her neck, something she’d been doing since Kilua had given it to her. Jiran knew that she felt terrified and she could have died if her magic had not worked. He still couldn’t believe that he had seen the power of telekinesis, again. It reminded him of his visits to the Roma.

  Jiran cleared his throat. “Thea...”

  The sound of her name made her turn to look at him. There were faint red lines in her cornea, and dark circles under her eyes, where she didn’t get any sleep.

  “I understand that there are some people you are close to back in Kingsland, right?” Jiran asked her. The thought of Maggie managed to dull the disturbing image of the deranged boy.

  “Oh . . . Yeah. I had thought about Maggie, but I just stopped and . . . I guess I’m a bad person.” Thea whispered in defeat. But, before she could sink back into the sadness that had wrapped around her soul, Jiran pulled her out of it again.

  “I was going to ask if there were someone you would like to bring? If this girl, Maggie, is that important to you, then I want to offer my home to her as well.”

  His words vibrated in Thea’s eardrums, but it felt like she did not hear him. She asked him to repeat himself, her mouth dropped, and her eyes grew wide. Jiran couldn’t help himself but laugh at her shocked expression.

  “I’m telling you, Thea, that I will not only adopt you but your friend, too. You’re both welcome.”

  Thea couldn’t believe what she had heard. She was so stunned that even the images of the boy stopped dominating her every thought. That was until she thought of who Maggie would be leaving behind: Freya and Eddie, and all the other children. She wouldn’t go with Thea if it meant going without them. Suddenly, the air around Thea became thick and she found it hard to breathe.

  ***

  When Jiran and Thea made it back to Kingsland Marketplace – nothing had changed, Thea noted – they stopped in front of Jiran’s
stand. It was midday, but there wasn’t a large crowd in the market. Thea couldn’t help but notice a few people dressed in unfamiliar clothing that passed through.

  “Thank you, Jiran for allowing me to accompany you to the, um, place,” Thea said. She did not want to let anyone know where they had gone.

  Jiran tilted his head and smiled at her, but it quickly disappeared into a worried frown.

  “Are you alright, Thea? One moment you were excited and happy about the news I told you, but then you became unhappy again . . . Is it about that boy?”

  Thea shook her head, lying. “No, it isn’t,” partially, she thought to herself. “I just . . . I don’t think I can accept your offer to adopt me. I’m sorry.” Thea licked her lips and swallowed nervously. She didn’t look up at Jiran’s face in case she regretted what she had said.

  “Oh?” Jiran asked. He had his arms crossed over his chest; his head tilted to the side. “What changed your mind?”

  Thea sighed and closed her eyes but opened them just as quickly and looked up at the gentle face of the man who she could have – and would have, gratefully – called father.

  “It’s just that . . . I know that you said my friend could come too, but there are people she wouldn’t leave. Though the more I thought about it, I was selfish. Even if it meant a good life for me, I would be letting those who took me in suffer….”

  Her words broke off, and she bit her lip, holding back the frustration that she wanted to release.

  “I see, go on.” Jiran urged her, encouragingly. He wanted to show her that no matter what decision she chose that he would be right beside her. He knew that was something she hadn’t had in a very long time.

  “I know . . . I probably can’t do much and Eddie has been holding out and keeping all the children safe, but I feel like I need to be there. It’s like when you found your calling, visiting other races less fortunate than yourself. You didn’t go back to the easy life even if it would have kept you safe . . .”

  Thea took a deep breath and rubbed her hands together. She wasn’t sure where the sudden boost of adrenaline was coming from, but she felt like she needed to go with it.

  “No. You didn’t. Even if the journey was dangerous or a law permitted you not to, you went because you knew it was the right thing to do even if it meant your exile or death. And that’s what I’m going to do. The Forty Little Thieves need me. They’re as much my family as I am theirs, and I won’t leave them behind.”

  She lowered her voice as a small smile came on her face. “Sitting there laughing with everyone at the Citadel and everything that you do, what you’ve said to me, made me want to change the world, or at least change the circumstance. I cannot sit back knowing I could have done something, and I would never forgive myself if any one of them were to get hurt; and in Kingsland, we’re like sheep in a lion’s den, but one lion, even a viper, can’t take out all the sheep.”

  Jiran breathed slowly and let out a low chuckle. “You certainly are the quickest apprentice that I have had.” He rubbed his chin and clucked his teeth for a moment. “You know, I could use someone to help me in the morning and I could give you some silvers for your work, so you don’t have to do much stealing. How does that sound? That way you help out your family and you can visit me anytime, without Kingsland’s soldiers nipping at your heels.”

  Thea grinned and nodded. She couldn’t find the words to express the immense joy she felt as she lightly tackled Jiran into a hug and squeezed him.

  You won’t be able to have both.

  The ominous, disembodied voice startled Thea, making her heart drop in her chest. Thea had never heard that voice before, for Jiran’s presence always silenced the voices. She swallowed the bile that crept up her throat and pushed back her fears: losing Jiran, the Forty Little Thieves, her sanity. She was tired of losing people, she wouldn’t suffer anymore.

  ***

  While Thea made her way through the slums back to her home, she knew she would need to come up with an excuse or lie to tell Eddie. She had left for two and a half days. She felt guilty that she had left Maggie with that responsibility as well as taking the book. Though she knew Maggie would understand, she just needed to find a way to calm the beast that was Eddie.

  I do miss calling him Edward though.

  You know he isn’t going to believe any excuse you give him, the motherly voice pointed out. He’s too untrusting of everyone to buy whatever you tell him.

  “Then what should I do?” Thea asked.

  Stab him? The angry voice replied.

  You know that’s not an option, the motherly voice said. Even if she did listen to you, killing Edward would only drive a wedge between her and Maggie.

  And? Maybe she’s too dependent on that girl. Perhaps it’s time for Thea to be more independent, the angry voice suggested.

  Puh-leeze, the mocking voice replied. You’re both wrong. She doesn’t owe Edward any explanation. He’s not her father. He’s not her brother. He’s not her lover.

  You know damned well that if she doesn’t at least try to give Eddie an excuse, things may become unpleasant for her there, the motherly voice argued. Thea dear, I’m sure you’ll think of something to tell our dear Edward.

  Thea couldn’t help but laugh at the voices bickering, sometimes she found them to be amusing, but mostly they scared her. And she hadn’t been able to figure out why they were so quiet around Jiran. It was odd having so much silence during her excursion. She couldn’t put her finger on it and thought about the positivity and negativity balance, but after a while of thinking and not understanding the concept, she waved it off.

  When she entered the alleyway that led to her shabby home, there was stiffness in the air that made her freeze, the feeling intensified. Thea touched her throat, feeling nothing to constrict her, yet she couldn’t deny that there was a dark presence that surrounded her.

  What’s going on? She panicked. She tried to swallow but it felt impossible. She managed, though, to walk up the rickety steps to her home one at a time. She felt a shiver course through her body, a foreboding sense of dread came over her, then she saw it.

  From the crack of the door, she saw what looked like a bright gold line going inside the building. It reminded her of the feeling she had with Eddie, the King, even the feeling she had out in the desert. Something was in there, and it didn’t feel right. Thea was suddenly conscious of how loud her heart was hammering in her chest. Despite the hammering in her ears, she could hear the low voices coming from inside.

  They didn’t sound familiar or friendly.

  Thea reached out her hand to grab the door handle and turned it slowly. Are you sure you want to see what’s on the other side of the door? The motherly voice asked, concern dripping in her every word. You could turn around and go back to Jiran.

  The pounding and hammering of her heart only intensified, growing louder with each second as she slowly willed the door to open.

  When she had it completely open, she felt like a horse had trampled her — her heart felt like it would escape her chest, and a chill coursed through her spine. The blood drained from her face, making her reddish-brown skin look washed out, and she felt like throwing up as she laid her eyes on the person the bright gold line coiled around them.

  “Well, look what we have here . . .”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The voice chilled Thea’s bones and made her entire body quake. but the one thing that made her instantly feel the intensity of cold, where the deep pools of ebony eyes. Thea’s eyes slowly grew wide as she compared the man’s face to the image in her head.

  The edges of his orange-red hair fell just short of his eye. Running from his brow across his right eye to the tip of his nose, was a long, thick rooted scar. The sinister smirk on his face deepened, and Thea felt her throat tighten, wanting nothing more than to vomit. She forced it back down her throat, not wanting to let this man see her fear.

  Kill him now, the angry voice snarled in her ears. But Thea was too ter
rified to move, let alone kill this man—the man from her vision.

  Someone grabbed the edges of her hair and pulled her into a man’s smelly, dank chest. Thea let out a cry of pain and scrunched up her nose from the stench assaulting her senses. Her eyes traveled up to her attacker’s face, first seeing that he was wearing a dirty, green shirt and a brown, leathery vest that had several holes in it. Like his attire, the man was not put together well. He had cropped dirty-blonde hair that covered part of his face and a massive gap in his teeth. She gritted her teeth in pain before looking into the man’s hatched face and crooked nose.

  “What do we do about this one, Captain?”

  She felt the man tug her forward, so she would lay her eyes on the man he called Captain. When she did, it was the first time she noticed the children in the background huddled together. Maggie and Eddie were among them, gathered close together. His men stood around them, ready to attack if one of them broke formation.

  What had happened while I was gone? She frantically thought. Her attention, however, was pulled away when she heard the floor creaking. The orange-haired captain came forward. The vision she’d had earlier ran circles in her head.

  Thea struggled out of the grip of the stinky, gap-tooth man. But for a gangly man, his grip was tight, and Thea felt warm tears reach her eyes, threatening to fall. Thea’s heart pounded in overdrive and she had to contain the rapid breaths of anger as she stared at him.

  The man bent down and leaned close to her so that Thea could get a good look at his cold, calculating, ebony eyes.

  “You’re a feisty one, aren’t you?” He asked her. Thea squared her eyes at him, forcing herself not to spit in the man’s face. She knew that would only lead to him hitting her or worse.

  “And you're a dick who likes to pick on little kids.”

  She felt the tug on her hair get even tighter and gritted her teeth in pain, gripping the sides of her hair. “Watch who you’re talking to, you little cunt. Do you know who you’re even talking too?” The gap-toothed man said. Thea could feel his hot breath and spit flying in her face, it took everything in her not to throw up.