by Rain Oxford
The man set me down roughly in a large wooden cart with three other women and a little girl. I started to lean over the side when a sharp bark startled me and snapping jaws were suddenly an inch from my face. The animal had the scruffy look and head shape of a hyena with the lithe body structure of a wild dog.
I jumped back, barely resisting the urge to shriek, and barreled into one of the women. All four captives had obviously seen better days. They were covered in dirt and grime, clearly starving, and shivering in the ragged tatters they wore. Why the little girl was on her own, I didn’t know.
“Come here,” I whispered to the little girl and held out my arms. She looked at me, but huddled deeper into the corner of the cart. Obviously, my mothering skills were bad enough to physically repel even the most unfortunate children.
I turned at the sound of a commotion to see Vreko being dragged out of the house. He was bleeding from a cut on his head and seemed very dazed. Instead of being put on the cart with me, he was cuffed to a thick metal chain that dragged behind it. The dogs, who were attached to the front of the cart, dragged the wagon into dark tunnels.
Most of my life was devoted to being an avid feminist and animal rights activist, which meant I had a horde of supporters in whatever I did and people to scream out if anyone ever tried to shut me up. I was always bleeding about rights on somebody’s carpet every time the opposition sneezed in the wrong direction. I was aware of this, but didn’t think it was wrong. On Dios I had no supporters, no causes, and nobody who wanted my help.
We traveled for several hours without any talk, breaks, or water. It was impossible to sleep. I understood the danger we were in and that while trying to find Nila to help him stop the slavery, I myself ended up caught in it.
I closed my eyes, put my hands together, and did something I had not done in fifteen years; I prayed. Zer, I know you weren’t my god growing up, but I need someone now. I’m Nano’s mate, so maybe it matters to you. Please don’t let me die here… especially when Nano probably thinks I ran away.
I was startled by a gentle hand on my knee and opened my eyes. The little girl gave me a look of concern before she slowly crawled into my lap and curled up against my chest. She was maybe six or seven, had blond hair covered in dirt, and huge blue eyes. I really didn’t want to be a mother, let alone a foster mother, but I could be someone’s pillow for a while.
* * *
A sudden jerk had me sprawled out on the floor of the cart. The little girl never moaned or cried, even though it must have hurt her. Sometime during the trip, I had fallen asleep sitting up, which led to my disorientation. I tried to sit up and give the child room to breathe when one of the hyena/dog creatures leapt part of the way into the cart and tried to bite me.
I flattened myself over the little girl as fast as I could and the dog gave up trying to get in the cart. He gave a low growl before he joined the other six of his pack to get fed what looked like steaks. I sat back up and the little girl crawled right back into my arms.
We were stopped outside a large shack. The largest man came around the side of the cart and reached for me. I pushed the child away from him and didn’t fight him as he wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me out. The one thing I was good at was arguing, yet I couldn’t speak enough Dego to do so properly.
I was set down and pushed gently towards the shack. I stared at the face of the man for a moment before walking, slowly. This man was unreasonable and unmerciful, but it seemed he would be gentle for as long as I cooperated. I knew how strong the dile were, so my only chance was to outsmart them.
The door was opened and when I saw my fate, I gasped with horror. Lining the walls were cages, each barely large enough for an adult woman to lie down in. In the center of the room was deplorable furniture consisting of two metal beds, two metal x-shaped contraptions, and a black cushioned bench. Most of the dozens of cages were full and closely resembled enclosed dog kennels. They were about four-by-four wide and six foot tall. The tops were made of what appeared to be glass or clear plastic. Against the back wall of each was a two-by-four bed that consisted of an inch-thick mattress on the floor.
I was shoved into a cage in the middle and the little girl was put into one almost directly across from me. Vreko was taken to another room, while the other three women were put into the last remaining cages of this room.
I sat on the bed to work out my strategy. The locks on the cages were built in and opened from a key which only the big man seemed to have. I needed to gather information, like when they brought food, let us go to the bathroom, or if they cleaned the cages.
This turned out to be a waiting game. For the next three hours, a man came in to check into each cage every hour. He was a middle-aged man with short black hair, a slim build, and angry eyes. His clothes consisted of a white tunic and dark blue pants. Every time he entered, he had a small brown notebook with him, but he never opened it.
Unfortunately, he was the only man who checked on us and his notebook was the only thing he brought. I fell asleep cold and hungry.
* * *
When I woke, it was to the sense of something wrong more than any sound. There were two men speaking in Dego when I sat up. I took a moment to get the cricks out of my neck before I moved to the bars and looked around. The two men were standing outside the little girl’s cage. One of the men was the big one, but the other was unfamiliar.
The large man opened the cage, then the stranger reached in and pulled the girl out.
“Let her go!” I demanded, standing. They ignored me, so I started banging on the bars.
This got their attention at least. The stranger considered me for a moment before pushing the girl back into the cage and closing the door. The child didn’t make a sound the entire time. Unfortunately, both men approached my cage and the big man unlocked it. When they stood back and waited expectantly, I came out. The stranger took my arm in a firm grip as if he expected me to try to run away.
I focused on controlling my breathing as he took me into the next room, where I realized with horror how much trouble I was actually in. Barely reacting in time, I gripped the doorframe to try to prevent him pulling me further in. Still, it was useless, for his strength was too great.
The room was set up like a dirty laboratory. Of course, everything in the under cities were dirty. There was a thin, long metal table with leather straps and a fluid drain on the right-hand side. Beside it were a wooden stool and a small, square metal table laden with surgical equipment and syringes.
Having watched dozens of movies that started out this way, I knew screaming and crying did no good. In fact, I was always the one complaining that the girl would just cry instead of fighting harder. I was an idiot.
I didn’t fight them because I was too afraid to make it worse. Instead, I cried silently until they forced me down on the table. When the smaller man started to pull the strap over me, I leaned up and bit him, then tried to get off the table. The larger man was there, however, and restrained me easily with one hand.
The smaller man strapped me down tightly, spitting insults as he did. After the straps were secure, he put a dirty cloth in my mouth and then slapped me. The man who had checked on the cells every hour entered at that moment and barked something angrily at the stranger, who glared back but kept his mouth shut. Abruptly, the stranger and the larger man left me alone with the man.
He approached me slowly, confidently, as if he planned to take all the time in the world with me. To my relief, he removed the cloth from my mouth, only to start wiping the sharp tools with it.
“Vet hyaxt yuben?” I asked his name. It didn’t matter really, but I figured I had a better chance of escape if I could make them think I was cooperative.
“Dleso Adre.”
I knew that name. I couldn’t remember from where, but I recognized it. Before I could think of anything else to ask, Adre held up one of the syringes full of a blue liquid. His grin was that of a person entirely out of his mind.
Nano had told me that people of Dios once had darkness in their souls and that, while it was rare, it still existed in a select few. I didn’t believe it before.
* * *
The next few days were hell. I woke from pain only to be put back under. When I was conscious, I felt so sick all I could do was dry heave, since there was nothing in my stomach. I knew he made cuts on me, but I was numb a lot of the time.
Having no way to tell time, I didn’t know if it was days or weeks. Through it all, I never gave up hoping that Nano would find me.
* * *
I felt myself being carried and groaned. There was no way I could take any more. However, to my shock, I was set gently on something soft. Assuming I was being put back in my cage, I opened my eyes. My vision was blurry to the point where I couldn’t make out the person laying me down, but he was small.
I reached out to push him away, but he took my hand gently. “It’s okay, Vivian,” said a voice I would recognize anywhere.
“Nila. Where are we?”
“Safe. We’re in an abandoned house not far from my old city. How did you get caught up in the slavery operation? Where is Nano?”
“I don’t know where he is. I went looking for you. I wanted to help.”
“What is it with you humans? You always have to help.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Dylan was trying to help a few days ago, and Tiamat, too. Settle down, Vivian,” he warned me as I tried to sit up. “You were in bad shape when I found you and I don’t think the drugs are out of your system yet. Try to sleep it off.”
“What about everyone else?”
“We got everyone out. We were all heading to the surface, but you weren’t able to walk, so I have been carrying you. There was an attack and we got separated. No one was hurt. Kseve has probably already gotten the others to the surface. We are just a few days behind because we had to take detours. Sleep.”
I wanted to argue, but my mind was too clouded and opening my mouth again was too much work.
* * *
I felt like a human again the next time I woke, albeit one who was used as a pincushion. The bed I was in was soft and I was warm for the first time since entering the under cities. I opened my eyes and found Nila sleeping next to me.
The house was a decent one-room place with a little stove in the far corner, a bed that we were lying on, a small wooden table, and four chairs. Aside from the scarce furniture, there were child drawings and personal items on the walls.
Realizing that I could see again, I was very relieved. I sat up carefully, mindful of any broken bones, and tried to get my bearings. My body seemed to be fine; there were no major aches or mysterious bleeding. Perfectly even bruises marred my wrists and ankles, suggesting that I fought restraints. To my distaste, I was dressed in the same dirty, white, scrub-like uniform that all of the slaves were wearing.
Nila woke and sat up next to me. “How do you feel?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Is there anything to eat?”
“Sorry, no. Tiamat brought Kseve and me food several days ago, but there is nothing left and we haven’t found anything since. The crops have all died with no one here to take care of them and the water purification systems have been dismantled by the slavers to draw out those who got stuck here.”
“Nano would help if he knew what’s going on here.”
He frowned with concern. “I have told Nano. He refuses to help.”
“I’m sure he just doesn’t realize it’s this bad. We need to get a letter to him. Tell him I’m here; he’ll definitely come then.”
He sighed. “Nano is working against us and gives information to the enemy.”
“Bullshit. Nano is the Guardian; he would never betray us. Now, let’s get to the surface so we can talk to Nano. He’ll explain to you that this was all a big misunderstanding and he’ll come back to crush the slavery ring.”
He sighed again as he stood. “Let’s go then.”
We traveled for hours before Nila let us take a break right outside a small city, which we had to cross in order to reach the surface. The strange sounds that came from it warned me this would not be an easy escape.
“It would be so much easier if one of us could do magic,” the boy king remarked.
“Yes, it would, but neither of us have magic, so what are we going to do?”
“I have been praying to Tiamat for the last hour. Apparently, she isn’t answering.”
“Why would you pray to Tiamat? Why not your own god?”
“Zer? Not likely. He only responds to Nano. Let’s do this. Stay in the dark. If you see a goblin, you run. Goblins see very well in the dark, but they’re not fast.”
We crept into the city, which was illuminated by a pit of fire in the center. Fire in the under cities was highly regulated because most of the venting systems hadn’t seen maintenance since they were built.
Men meandered about the place, sharpening weapons, eating, or just chatting. I saw no slaves, fortunately. We stayed in the shadows of the houses and moved silently. It wasn’t until we were halfway through town that everything went wrong. A man appeared out of thin air right in front of me, nearly causing me to shriek.
Nila, a good ten feet ahead, started back for me just a little too late. The man grabbed my arm firmly, waved his other hand up in the air, and created an energy shield around the young king, much like the ones Dylan made. Nila pressed his hands against the shied and was clearly startled when nothing happened.
“Demon!” the king yelled.
The man laughed and I realized the differences in this opponent. He was clean, as opposed to every slaver I met, and his grip wasn’t as strong as a dile’s. He yelled something, which I didn’t catch, and we were suddenly surrounded by more demons.
“What a lovely woman,” one of the demons said. “She smells human.”
The one holding me combed his fingers through my hair and then leaned in to sniff me. “She is human. Dile never come in this color. What do you think, should we take her as a pet or leave her to the slavers?”
“Why are you speaking English?” I asked. I really didn’t want to hear this.
The demon holding me laughed. “Our magic allows anyone to understand us unless we choose not to be understood.”
“They are not speaking English,” Nila said, confused. Their demon magic didn’t work on him, so he couldn’t understand them, but his void blood also apparently didn’t negate demon energy. “Ask them what they want. Ask them why they work for slavers.”
“They are not working for slavers,” a man said, suddenly appearing in front of Nila. He was tall, thin, and a bit unkempt. Nila immediately shrank back as far as the barrier would let him, which was only a few feet.
“What are you doing here?”
“That is no way to speak to your father,” the man admonished.
I gaped at Nila, for I thought the king’s father had been killed before Nila was born.
“You are not my father. You are a demon.”
“It hardly matters what you call me. You are going to summon Dylan here right now, or I will personally kill your lovely lady friend as painfully as possible. I might even drag her soul into the void if there is anything left of it when I am done.”
“You will leave her alone!”
“Call Dylan here.”
“I can’t call to him. I have no magic, so he wouldn’t hear me.”
“You can call to his wife,” Nano said. I turned to see the Guardian entering through one of the dark tunnels and I felt both relief that he was here and worry for his safety… until what he said sunk in.
“Nano. Tell me you’re here to help us,” I said.
“I’m afraid not, Vivian.” His reply was cold and hurt more than anything he had ever said.
I remembered how I entrusted my fears to Nila soon after we met. Nila told me his uncle loved me and wanted to spend his immortal life with me. Of course, that was many years ago and many cruel things have been sai
d by both of us since then. I pushed him too much, for too long, and this was what I was left with. Nano casually halted a foot from Nila’s father, obviously familiar with the man.
“Why? What’s going on?”
He sighed. “Nila told me his father was building an army against Dylan. I wanted in on it.”
I didn’t know whether to scream at him or explain calmly that he was an idiot, but I really wanted the man closer so I could flog him with something. “Dylan is your friend.”
“Dylan has too much power and believes himself better than the other Guardians. When he first became the Guardian, I thought he was harmless and would eventually fit in. Unfortunately, he never minds his own business.”
“When you were missing, he tried to find you.”
“He failed. I wasn’t important as long as he got the gates closed, which he did after refusing help from any of us. Thus, he just earned more trust and respect from the gods. I am over fifteen hundred years old and have always served Zer faithfully, yet he trusts Dylan over me, even after they all wanted to kill him when he was a baby.”
“But Dylan would never betray you.”
“You have so much faith in the man who left you. Hell, he is even raising my child.”
“We gave Sammy up for his own good. And god, am I glad now. I hope he never realizes how much of a bastard you are.”
He laughed. “What about how cold his mother is? How she can never love anyone, including her own child.”
“This is very amusing, but I would like to get on with it today,” Nila’s father interrupted.
Nano shrugged. “Demons are not the only ones who have realized Dylan is a problem, either. However, I am a forgiving man, Vivian. Come back to me, swear to never run away again, and forget about Dylan.”