‘I don’t know,’ I whispered to him. ‘Perhaps?’
‘It’s been an exciting year,’ Lex told me, rubbing his face, moving his blond beard aside. ‘Come over there, please.’ He nodded towards the far wall, near the door. I shrugged and followed him, braiding my hair as I did. He turned towards me and took a deep breath. ‘How you holding up?’
‘I’ve been fine since …’ I sputtered. ‘This night. I’m not mad, you see.’
‘Oh?’ he asked strangely. ‘You and Anja and Albine, Cherry sneaking out earlier to chat cleared this? And she opened the door. And there you found out you can speak with yourself and that’s just fine and very healthy?’ he grinned. ‘I don’t mind a bit of crazy, mind you. You gonna tell me about it?’
‘No,’ I told him gently. ‘But I appreciate you for accepting me and my strangeness when I thought there was something wrong with me. While it appears I’m not strange but only stupid, your friendship means a lot. You honestly didn’t care if I was … appeared mad. You stood up to me since day one.’ It was true, I realized.
‘Look,’ he began and stammered. ‘I ...’
‘Yes?’
He cursed. ‘We will be doing something dangerous soon. Well, all the time, of course. Waking up is not safe here. And I wanted to tell you something.’
‘I stink? Or have something between my teeth?’ I asked him, a bit nervous for his intensity. ‘Look, I’ve had a lot on my plate lately. And you don’t know what is going on. And we should sleep and rest!’
‘And you will not tell me what’s going on,’ he stated, blithely ignoring the part about resting.
‘No,’ I pouted. ‘I’m tired. Later, you will be the first to know.’
He looked exasperated. ‘When they drag me away to be tortured? OK. I don’t need to know. Not really. Never was the type to lead folks nor to care to know stuff not meant for me. I loved to have a nice long sail with my boat to get away from all the shit. I loved sunsets, nights out with my brotherhood and damned bastards they were, but honest bastards. Not many of those around.’
‘You woke me up to tell me about your boat and the honest, damned band of criminals you ran around with?’ I asked, tired.
‘Damn. Shannon. Come on. A smile would be nice?’ he said with a mischievous grin. ‘One smile? Just to break the ice. It will hurt, I know, likely tear some skin.’
‘You woke me up to see me smile?’ I asked him, getting angry now.
He stared at me and sighed. ‘Yeah. Actually yes. That’s it. No smile? Fine. I’ll show you how well I can dance for I have seen Cherry there teach you. And since you can’t dance worth a damn, I’m sure you can appreciate these fancy steps of mine. I cannot do it for shit either, and you are sure to smile after.’
‘Don’t,’ I warned him sternly, but he lifted his robe, hung his long, blond hair down over his shoulder as he tried to look at his steps. He whirled, stepped to the side, shook his hips ferociously, and I giggled. I put a hand to my mouth and bit my lip. ‘Please stop!’
‘No, here, look …’ he said and tried some sort of a sailor’s dance move, stepping forward, then backward, and he fell on his ass quite ungraciously as he stepped on his robe. ‘Shit. That smarts!’ he complained.
‘OK, I’m better than you,’ I said, hysterical now and pulled him up. ‘Cherry can teach us both.’
‘Feels strange without music. And beer,’ he added, and we laughed as softly as we could.
‘So, you wanted to show me your dance moves?’ I leaned on a pillar.
He dusted off his filthy robe. ‘No, I wanted to … I don’t know. Speak with you? About some things. Yeah.’
‘As long as it’s not your damned boat, I’m all ears.’
‘God, damn I miss the … okay!’ he said. ‘It’s been an exciting year.’
‘Yes. You said that. Albine did as well. We all think it's been that and more.’
He waved his hand around. ‘I miss the earth. The Tenth. How could I not? It was shitty as hell out there, with no money and few prospects other than eventual jail time. Perhaps there was to be some sweet, fat, amorous husband to share the cell with, but at least we did not have to fear so much. Did we?’
‘I suppose not. I miss Mother and Father,’ I told him and noticed a tear coming. ‘And my small sibling, Rose. But it was still driving us crazy. All of it. Not hearing, seeing the Shades.’
He nodded. ‘Funny that. We are shut off from it, but it's not half as bad as it was at home. Probably we could just barely feel and hear it and it drove us crazy. Here it’s either gone or on. Yeah, I miss it when they take it, but still easier this way.’
‘I miss it all the time,’ I said softly and felt more tears come.
He waved his hand around. ‘We don’t know what’s out there, do we? It might all be worth it. We have this small obstacle to deal with, the Fanged Spire and mad serpent women looking for every excuse to cull us and then sell us.’ He stepped forward, and his finger came forward to wipe the tear off my cheek. I grabbed his hand, and it trembled. I took a deep breath and let it go. He thumbed away the tear, gently. He eyed it and smiled, sucking it off his thumb. ‘Can’t waste any sustenance.’
‘I guess not,’ I allowed and placed a hand on his chest. He did not look shocked, nor did he grin in his customary way. ‘Dana and I are close,’ I stated, ‘and I cannot promise you anything. Besides, she has been speaking with you a lot. I think she …’
He shook his head tiredly. ‘Yeah. She has shown some interest. I’ve been listening, but she does not say much, really. She can make you feel really special, but when I thought about her just now, I realized I don’t know her. I know she loves her powers. She smiles like the sun when we speak about that. Dana, I think, is much more into survival and beating this challenge than anything else,’ he told me softly, caressing my hand. He was bearded and scruffy, but handsome as the devil. ‘And so I’m lonely. In addition, I like you. I think I know you better than I do her. You just told me about rose, your folks and in one sentence you feel more human than she. I …’
‘Am I the last available woman? If Dana only loves the Shades, Anja has the mad, bloodthirsty Austrian and Cherry is ...’
‘Devoted to you, as I am,’ he whispered. ‘And she is mute. And not my type anyway.’
‘Not pretty enough?’ I chided.
He shrugged. ‘I could lie; it does not matter. And I can’t say I would like her nonetheless since she never says anything. I don’t even know how old she is. Anything from twelve to twenty.’
‘Albine will grow up in a few years.’ I said.
‘She is too smart for me, probably, but you are not,’ he told me drolly, and I slapped him playfully. He smiled and shrugged. ‘The only woman I think about is you,’ he said. ‘And the only one who makes me smile, even if she is a bit out of sorts, a tad crazy. No matter if she claims it’s all fine now.’
‘Bilac liked you?’ I asked him mischievously. ‘Called you beautiful. She would show you some good time, I think. I bet she would. Would make dice out of your balls and a napkin from your beard,’ I chortled, and we burst into painfully subdued giggles.
‘Oh, she is a darling, but a bit too ferocious, perhaps,’ he said. ‘I do like you. So, I think we will face something horrible soon and just wanted to let you know.’
‘So I could miss you?’ I asked sadly. ‘Perhaps you’ll hang around with me anyway.’ I giggled and shook my head at the thought and his shocked face. ‘Never mind.’
He looked at me strangely and laughed with me dutifully. ‘Just felt like it was important. I won’t leave shit behind me. I wanted to leave you with that memory,’ he said uncomfortably.
‘Of you dancing?’ I asked and nodded. ‘Thank you. For your dance and words. Graduation to the second year will not be pleasant. I’m sure of it,’ I allowed, remembering what Euryale had said. She would test me.
‘And knowing these creatures, that is an understatement. It will be like swimming in burning tar. Perhaps we will be swimmi
ng in burning tar, actually. They did say we would not all survive two years here …’
‘Yes, they did.’
‘And you,’ he said in a determined voice, ‘have nothing but the healing spell. So I will keep an eye on you.’
‘I … thank you,’ I told him, blushing. ‘But I do not think …’
‘Yes, you will need help,’ he said huskily, and I shook my head but gave in.
‘I do thank you. I shall keep an eye on you, as well.’
‘We shall,’ he whispered, ‘conquer what they throw at us. You and me, the little strange girl and Dana. Not sure of the frog eater, but we will see.’ His eyes found Albine staring at us, and I shrugged. ‘And hopefully they will work with us as Ulrich promised. And your sister did, as well.’
‘Perhaps she lied,’ I said angrily. Did she? On the other hand, did Albine lie to make me change my mind? I waved the thought away. ‘We shall see,’ I told him and turned his face to me. ‘Nobody’s fought for me before. Save for Dana. You have and will, and it makes me happy. Jubilant.’
He blushed, smiled uncertainly and leaned forward. I pulled him to me and kissed him gently, thinking of my first and latest kiss, the dead nobleman of Trad and hoped it would not happen again. I kissed him more forcefully, then passionately, and it was a great kiss, full of promise, playful and severe at the same time, leaving me dizzy. I did not resist as his hand went around my waist, his lips on my throat, and I even forgot about Albine’s probing eyes.
‘Look, Shannon,’ he stammered after a while. ‘I’ve not been entirely honest.’
‘First you kiss me, and then you tell me something terrible?’ I said, looking incredulous. ‘You are really a girl? No, that’s not it, I’ve seen you taking a piss with that ...’ I blushed. ‘Well, what is it? You just wanted a kiss and didn’t like it?’
‘That is the one thing I would never lie about,’ he said earnestly. ‘So help me God, gods. Shit, I swear by anything that could flay me skinless.’
‘Euryale could,’ I told him with a giggle. ‘Easily.’
‘I’ll not invoke her name,’ he pouted. ‘Listen. You know I am a smuggler?’
‘Yes,’ I agreed. ‘What does that bit of news have to do with this?’
‘I belonged to a criminal organization,’ he told me reluctantly. ‘A big one. Did more than smuggling.’
‘What?’ I grimaced.
He looked away. ‘Some had part in that. We were a pretty diverse lot. We are pretty spread out. Had stuff going on all along the coast. Some distasteful stuff as well.’
‘Slaves?’ I asked.
‘Some did,’ he agreed. ‘Not in Boston, though. I was too young to be trusted with any of that more sinister stuff. Our uncle often got his orders from the boss, but I knew shit about anything. We all committed similar sins, and I guess that was enough for me. Made me feel like part of something better. I ran things to the hideout with my boat and that was a good enough life for me. I wasn’t the type to clobber folks who didn’t have it coming. Nor did I ever see what they packed in my ship. Sometimes I did help break some bones. Yes, got into a row or two for the team, but nothing heavy.’
‘I see,’ I said. ‘A smuggler and a ruffian.’
He didn’t deny it. ‘Perhaps I was. And you know the outfit has connections overseas. In England, in France. And we came from Austria to the Unites States. Cyburns did. Some still live in Austria.’
I stared at him as he squirmed.
He nodded heavily to my unasked question.
‘Ulrich and Ron were your brothers?’ I asked incredulously.
‘Cousins,’ he agreed sheepishly. ‘Never met Ulrich before. He is family yeah, and they live in Austria, but I knew Ron and hated his guts. A year older than I was but a big shot already in the higher circles. Shithead. But family is family and so when Ulrich asked me to get close to Dana, I kind of obeyed.’
‘You got close to me, instead. Sneaky,’ I sneered at him.
‘And I’m telling you this for I love you and will not play their game anymore. His.’
‘You love me?’ I asked, stunned.
‘Yes, I, the damned fool, love you. Didn’t you feel it in my kiss? Sometimes you are so vulnerable, other times funny and clumsy, then strong as an old oak. Ulrich respects you as well.’
‘He asked you to …’
‘No, he wanted to keep me as an insurance. I resigned today. He didn’t throw a fit either, so I guess he trusts you.’
I stared into his eyes, trying to fathom if he was lying. I got up and tentatively pulled him to me. He said he loved me. I smiled at him. He had just made me more vulnerable.
Then, the door flew open.
We separated lightning quick, and the sleepers were roused as the gate banged against the wall and our jailers entered. Bilac was staring at the door balefully and then hissed something at some other gorgons, all of whom denied having forgotten to lock the door. Dana was eyeing them and then at Lex and me, curiously and then with some incredulity, which hurt me. Soon she turned away, rubbing her eyes, and I found Cherry was scowling at me. She was. She knew what had happened, and I resisted the temptation of apologizing to her. I forgot about her as our jailers came to the light. They stalked in, and there were many of them. This time, they were heavily armed and armored. Glittering gorgets of steel adorned their throats, their chests and arms were smothered in leathery chainmail guards. Skirts of stiff leather and high, leather and steel meshed boots clapped on the tiled floor. They held shields of dull silvery radiance; the customary whips on wide belts and some had spears of deadly make, thin and tapering. All had swords on their hips, practical and simple, long and short both. Bilac stepped in front of us as her eyes traveled our eyes. ‘Today, you will be tested. You have spent a year learning to crawl, and some of you have built your stamina significantly. Others are fast and skillful in their weaves. Some are both.’
Cosia waved her hand and weapons were brought to the room. They were of strange wooden make and supremely heavy. There were swords of many makes and spears, heavy maces, and brutal axes. ‘Toys?’ Ulrich asked. ‘What do we do with these? Build a fire? Pick our asses?’
‘If you are not careful, I will have you fight your woman,’ Bilac snorted and pointed at a
blanching Anja, and we knew she was not joking. ‘You will be fighting for your lives. You will fight a second class. Survivors will go forward, the losers will not. Simple.’
‘Second class?’ Dana spat. ‘They are much more skillful than we are! You have been teaching them for a year longer!’
‘No, child,’ Cosia grinned. ‘We hold the auction every two years. You misunderstood if you thought there are classes above you. Instead, there are nearly forty of your kind here this year, new as wet lambs in the tower, four teams altogether. Some are dead already, of course. They know as little as you do. It will be brutal but fair.’
We stared at them in stupefaction. ‘You mean we will fight other humans. Saa’dark?’
Bilac nodded at the weapons. ‘Yes, of course. Don’t be dull. Take your pick from the weapons. You will fight the Twisted Necks. Guess how they got the name?’
‘We can guess,’ Lex spat.
Cosia warned us. ‘Don’t lose too many. The graduation year’s fight will not be fair nor exciting if only one of you breathes after today. Today, those who survive will all be killers. You might be the ones to make it to the end. We taught you well. At least give us good sport.’
‘I do not wish to fight,’ Able growled. ‘It is wrong.’
‘You won’t have to,’ I reminded him and ignored Dana’s and Lex’s long looks. Anja smiled while looking around, trying to spot Able.
‘Have to what?’ Cosia wondered. ‘Never mind, mad one. But you have to fight, indeed.’
‘What if there are family or friends we know?’ Dmitri demanded. ‘There are not so many families who were given this gift. We have to …?’
‘You decide what you will do,’ Bilac said, bored. ‘We have built you up
for this. We cannot force you to wish to survive. However, you will fight. Most will. Most always will.’
‘And if we do survive and make it through the years? When we are auctioned, what shall we be then?’ Lex asked tiredly. ‘Beasts.’
Bilac grunted and waved her hand to the west. ‘You will be owned by the elves, and they will wish for beasts. Especially the southern lords. Some are great, generous lords, others less so and guess who will buy you? Not the noble ones, for they have their honor. Fight for the bastard elves. Alternatively, you just die here today. Up to you.’
‘Take your weapons,’ Cosia said.
We gathered to look at the blunt, wooden things. ‘They have no edges,’ Anja growled.
‘They are deadly, nonetheless,’ Bilac grinned. ‘Just takes some more effort to kill something.’
‘You are cruel bastards,’ I said spitefully. ‘Cruel and dull.’
Bilac’s whip lashed around my neck and arm, and she pulled me to her. Her yellow eyes were clear and bright with few kind emotions. She nodded viciously. ‘We are different, slave, from you. And you will benefit from our lessons if you are to survive.’
‘I think your mistress told you not to hurt me,’ I said to her spitefully.
‘One day, I might not care,’ she hissed and pushed me away, the whip uncoiling. ‘Well?’
Resentfully we rifled at the pile, pulled at the wooden mockery of killing tools, hefting them, testing their length and ability, and found they were likely as deadly as the real things. Alexei and Dmitri grabbed round shields and maces. For some reason, they suited them just fine, both suddenly looking grim and deadly. They had a ruffian-like look about them, which they really were, of course. Anja and Ulrich were sifting through weapons and Dana, looking distraught, grabbed a short spear, hefting it, unsure if she had made a good choice. I shook my head at the ludicrous thought of fighting for our lives. Lex grimaced. ‘Can we do this?’ he asked us. ‘Can we honestly kill some other group of damned unfortunates like ourselves. Really?’
Anja pulled him close and whispered. ‘We have no choice now.’ She glanced at me, and I cursed her. I could not just agree to her plans, not without thought and at least a greater chance of success than some thin secret and the paltry hope it gave. But she was right; it was too late then. Ulrich gazed at me with a strange look on his face. Albine fingered a long spear, and Able was forlornly staring at the pile, looking down. Anja crouched before the weapons. ‘What options do we have?’
The Dark Levy: Stories of the Nine Worlds (Ten Tears Chronicles - a dark fantasy action adventure Book 1) Page 24