by Leyton, Bisi
Bach had half expected Enric to let Malcolm finish his assault on Wisteria.
“Enric, how is it going? I was a little worried you were not going to show up.” Felip grinned as he stomped on Bach’s face.
“Vadda rat, I have waited for a chance to repay you for what you did to my bloodline!”
“I am confused. Are you talking about killing your father, or banging your sister?” Felip asked, feigning innocent confusion. “How is Alba by the way? Does she still ask after me?”
“Qwaynide, I am going to make sure you die a slow and painful death!” Enric bolted toward Felip, but Malcolm dove at him again, hurdling him against a wall.
Bach leapt at Felip, punching his cousin’s rib cage. He was in pain but knew he needed to incapacitate Felip somehow. If he did not, his cousin would be gone and so would Wisteria.
“This is getting old, Bach.” Felip grabbed Bach’s neck and smashed him to the ground, causing the floor to crack. “Stay down and you might not get hurt.”
“I was just going to say the same thing to you,” Bach responded as he attempted to rise.
Felip kicked him in the face. “I said, stay down!”
“Bach.” Wisteria hurried toward him.
“This is not your fight!” Felip clutched her and threw her to the other side of the hall. He placed a piece of dark glass on the reflective surface of one of the doors.
“I can’t let you leave.” Wisteria glared at him as she fished for the canister in her messenger bag.
“And what are you going to do about it?” Felip retorted as the glass began to grow. He was opening a threshold to somewhere. “Who will stop me?”
Seeing the way Felip and Malcolm treated her gave Bach a surge in strength. “No.” He forced himself to his feet. “I can stop you. It will not be a problem.”
Felip laughed. “Yeah, you think so? You do not look so well—”
Bach sped over to him and tossed him against the side of the wall. “I am going to end you, and before you die you will tell me everything--and I mean everything--that is going on here.”
Felip grinned. “You and what army?”
“You do not want to cross us,” Enric threatened.
Glancing back, Bach saw that Enric and Ollie had subdued Malcolm.
“Honestly, Oleander, I expected better from you,” Felip choked out.
“Start talking,” Bach repeated.
“Like I said, you and what army?” Felip croaked.
The group froze at the sound of deep groans emanating from the threshold.
Bach had heard similar sounds on Valhalla, and in Smythe. “Those don’t sound like biters.”
“They aren’t biters. They are draug. They used to be members of The Family.” Backing away, Wisteria drew out her sword and sprayed the blade with something. “Felip, turn it off.”
“It is not like a television. A threshold cannot turn off until whoever is journeying through makes it to the other side,” he responded. “I have about twenty coming through. They will consume you all.”
“You’re out of your mind.” Wisteria raced to pull a metal door in between them and the impending draugs.
“No, Wisteria, the door is not Ninth metal, so the draug will break through,” Felip informed her, glee in his voice.
“What are you trying to do?” Bach banged Felip’s head against the wall, but Wisteria pulled him away.
“Like I told you, your father did not understand what he was getting into, Wisteria. Otherwise, he would not have thought he could keep Lluc hostage, or breed a human-Famila hybrid.”
“What did you do with my child? What happened to my brother?” Bach gripped him tighter.
“You have not figured it out?” Felip burst into laughter and glanced over at Ollie. “Meet your daughter--Oleander Kuti of the Third Pillar.”
Turning around, Bach saw the skinny, almost bronze-skinned girl next to Enric, helping him restrain Malcolm.
Ollie shot him an uncertain look, as if she didn’t believe the revelation either.
“It’s true,” Wisteria agreed firmly, but with little happiness in her voice.
“Oleander, you were supposed to be a boy.” Bach did not know what to say. He had been so focused on finding the child he had not prepared himself for this. This was not how he imagined meeting his child for the first time. Traditionally, a Famila woman and her mate went into the woods or the mountains to give birth. He knew now that was never going to happen for him. “But, you are a girl?” Now the words had come out wrong. “You look like your mother.” What was he saying? “I mean, you are as beautiful as your mother.”
“We need to go. Get Felip; he still has to provide us with answers,” Wisteria interrupted his confusion. “Otherwise, he'll keep us here while everything goes pear-shaped.”
“She is right.” Surprisingly, Enric concurred with Wisteria. “We do not want to be here when those creatures journey through.”
Leading the way, Wisteria headed through the metal door at the end of the hall. Cautiously, she moved through and the rest of the group followed; Bach restraining Felip and Enric holding the still unconscious Malcolm.
She slammed the door shut and it sealed automatically.
“Well, that will not make much of a difference,” Felip informed them with a smug smile. “The draug on the outside are equally as dangerous.”
“Keep moving.” Bach shoved him forward.
“But you should not worry about the regular biters on their way here. You three are strong enough to repel four thousand biters, right?”
“They can’t get into the town,” Wisteria stated. “The ultrasonic emitters keep them away.”
“Yeah, we took out all the emitters. Now they are just—lunch.”
“Why are you doing this?” Ollie exclaimed. “Everyone I know lives here. You’re killing them for what? They’ve been helping you!”
“I am helping them by ending their suffering,” Felip responded coldly.
“Uncle—” Ollie started.
“Do not engage him anymore. He is insane.” Sweating, Bach pushed Felip along.
“I am protecting The Family’s interests,” Felip continued.
Wisteria led the way through another metal door at the end of the corridor. Once on the other side, she shut it.
“You killed my father. He was the Lord of Jarthan. When you did that, you made it apparent that The Family’s interests are not your concern,” Enric retorted.
“Okay--my interests.” Felip’s eyes darkened and trailed over to Wisteria.
“And what are your interests?” Wisteria asked. “What do you want?”
Felip glanced over at Bach. “Everything you have.”
The draug were now pounding against the door.
The group fled down the hallway as the creatures broke through and chased after them.
Felip remained behind, seemingly unbothered by the draug.
“Felip!” Bach yelled, but his cousin appeared relaxed and unconcerned.
In fact, the draug seemed as ambivalent to him as he was to them.
A draug leapt down and snatched Ollie.
Drawing her sword, Wisteria sliced off the creature’s arm before it could take the younger girl away.
“Stay back!” Bach yelled at her. Was she out of her mind? “It would have killed you.”
Not answering, she slashed again and the draug’s head fell to the ground.
More draug approached.
“Keep moving,” Wisteria shouted as several guards, led by Jenny, emerged around the corner.
The guards opened fire on the draug and The Family.
*****
Wisteria and the other members of The Family dove out of the way of the RZC guards’ bullets.
To Wisteria’s amazement, they seemed to be taking down the draug, and strangely, even Felip rushed to get out of the way.
Crouched in a doorway, she glanced back as the draug kept coming.
One of the creatures landed in front of h
er.
Without thinking, she tried the door handle of the room behind her and it opened. Moving backward, into a room filled with computer servers, she took out the canister of bean vine extract.
The draug crept in after her, letting out a loud snarl.
She sprayed the monster with the extract and it reeled back, screaming. Slicing its head off, she rushed out to find Ollie. Wisteria knew the younger girl had no experience with draug and she had no idea how the girl would react. Now with the guards and Felip in the mix, Wisteria knew her daughter was headed for real danger.
Malcolm stood at the door. Irritated, he marched in and glared at her. “Felip, we need to go now.” He placed a tile of dark glass on the glass incasing one of the servers. “Your pet is here.”
“Pet?” She spritzed his face with the bean vine.
“D’cara,” he wailed, clutching his eyes. “I will end you.”
The threshold continued to grow and had now enveloped the entire door of the glass server case.
“How can you, when you can’t see?” She wanted to spray him some more, but she needed to save what was left.
He moved his hands from his eyes to reveal his face, blotched with bloody blisters, but his eyes were still green. “I can see you fine.”
As they spoke, Enric entered and charged at them.
Wisteria was unsure if he was after her or Malcolm.
Before Enric could reach either of them, he was sucked into the threshold, along with Malcolm. Then, the threshold vanished.
Wisteria examined the glass to see if there was any sign of them, but she saw none. This was puzzling, too, as the thresholds she’d seen had never sucked people away before.
“Ollie, we need to go now,” she heard Felip say.
Leaving the room, she noticed several draug bodies lying in the corridor. Bach had shut the metal doors and was making his way back to her.
One the other side of the corridor, Felip was taking Ollie by the hand.
“Felip, I’m not sure I want to leave with you.” Ollie glanced over at Wisteria. “Wisteria, she—?”
“Oleander, I have always been honest with you. So trust me,” Felip reasoned with her.
“Stay away from her,” Wisteria yelled, attracting the attention of another draug who slammed down between her and Felip.
The monster groaned as thick dark sludge poured from its lips. It lunged itself toward her and she sprayed the bottle, but nothing came out. It was empty—great! Flinging the useless canister at the creature, she unsheathed her sword and drove it into the air as the beast started to descend on her.
The draug dropped dead at her feet.
“You okay?” Bach appeared in front of her, looking tattered, but in general, he seemed fine.
“Bach, he’s taking her.” She pushed past him.
Felip and Ollie dashed down one of the corridors.
Wisteria chased after them.
He took her daughter through a network of stairs and hallways, most of which had been evacuated. Eventually, they arrived at another vault door.
Out of breath, she sprinted to get to Felip before he finished keying in the code. “Ollie, I’m begging you--stay away from Felip.”
“This is Ninth metal. You better hurry if you ever wish to see you daughter again,” Felip called out to Wisteria as he opened the vault-like door.
The massive door started to close behind them.
Ollie shrieked. “She’ll die out there. Felip, there’s still biters—”
“Hurry, Mama and Papa, your baby bird is not going to last long with her Uncle Felip!” Felip mocked.
She‘d just then noticed that Bach hadn’t been behind her the whole time.
In seconds, Bach barreled down the hall. He took Wisteria in his arms and darted through the metal barrier before it sealed shut.
She slid across the floor with Bach’s arms still locked around her. She couldn’t help but realize how cold he felt, again. He hadn’t fully regenerated. This explained why he wasn’t able to overtake her as she ran after Felip and Ollie.
“Gugh,” a draug snarled.
Getting up, she gripped her sword and stopped when she saw the draug was crushed between the Ninth metal doors.
“This way.” Bach motioned down a dark, empty hallway.
She didn’t know how she’d handle it if Ollie became infected. Would she have to cure her? She felt herself trembling, petrified, not for herself, but for this child in a teenager’s body who was probably being led to her death. Even though she’d only known Ollie for a few days, she felt this enormous amount of responsibility and affection for the girl. Wisteria couldn’t explain it, but it was making it difficult for her to concentrate. “Can you sense any more biters, or draug in here?” she asked.
“No,” Bach mouthed and placed his finger on her lips, signaling her to be quiet.
Her first instinct was to be angry at him for telling her what to do, but he was right. To find Ollie they needed to pay attention to what was going on.
At the end of the murky hall, a door opened and a bright light shone out.
She clenched his hand and stepped back. “We should go back—now.”
He proceeded, drawing her forward. “We cannot leave the child.”
“I don’t think Felip will hurt her. He wants me and he will still come after me if we leave. When he does, he’ll probably use her for bait. Don’t go in there.” She stopped moving.
“I cannot take that risk,” Bach replied. “I do not understand why or how she exists, but if she is a part of us, I cannot leave her. Do you dread the notion of us so much you would let her die?”
“I love her, Bach, but going in there will mean we can’t save her. I wish I could tell you why I know this, but I do.” Wisteria didn’t even understand the words leaving her lips. All she could comprehend was how the light disturbed her. It signaled something bad; even the color of it gave her the shivers.
“I get it. You are scared.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “I will go.”
“Bach, I’ll find her and you stay here,” she whispered. “If I need help, I’ll call to you. You don’t understand what’s back there.”
“Neither do you, it seems.” He studied her eyes as if he was trying to read her mind. “Wisteria?”
“All I know is, what's in there isn’t going to be good for you.” She felt a darkness seep deep within her. “And it wants you. Felip was wrong, Bach--this isn’t just about me. Run away, find Lluc, and I’ll find a way to sort this out.”
His eyes darkened and his concern turned to anger. “I will not leave her—or you... Ever! If you knew me at all you would know you could never ask me to do that.”
“Bach—”
“I will not give up my daughter. I will never do that.” He stepped forward. “My bloodline will be restored.”
“The bloodline will be restored?” Where had she heard that before?
Stepping past her, he walked into the room. As much as she hated herself for it, she took his hand and followed. The light dimmed as she entered.
Inside, standing in the center of the room, was a very tall woman, dressed in a long white dress. The slender woman had pure ebony hair that hung below her waist, and her skin was extremely pale, as if she’d never been in the sun. Down the sides of her face trailed deep black shana. And though seemingly no more than an accumulation of bones and skin, she was stunning. Smiling weakly at Bach, she held out her hand. “Colista-Bren…”
Coia of Third Pillar.
Bach let go of Wisteria’s hand and cautiously moved toward the woman. “I do not understand—Mother?”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“This is impossible. How did you come to be here?” Bach did not understand what he was seeing. He could not. “You are dead.”
Coia’s green eyes glittered as she examined him, too. “Beloved.” Slowly, she glided to him and placed her fingers on his cheek. “I cannot believe it is you, either.”
Completely numb from sh
ock, it took him a while before he could feel her touch.
Slowly, she put her arms around him. Her hair smelled of the faint wild roses that had once grown in his home. “I have missed you.” Her voice was as weak and frail as she looked.
He expected her to fall over at any second. Lifting his hands, he embraced her, drawing her close. “Mother.” Something frozen inside of him melted as his mother held him. “We need to leave; Felip has brought trouble here.”
“Where is Felip?” Wisteria demanded, wrapping her arm around him and heaving him away from his mother. “He is working for you. Isn’t he?”
“Wisteria, do not talk to her that way.” Bach broke free from the suddenly clingy Wisteria and again advanced toward his long-lost mother. “She would never ally herself with him.”
“Felip is here.” Coia pointed into the darkness.
His cousin emerged, along with Malcolm.
Ordinarily, Bach would have seen him, but he was so astonished to see his mother, he had not processed what was happening around him. Peering deeper into the darkness, he spotted Enric slumped on the ground, as Ollie knelt beside him, stroking his hair.
“Stay away from her.” Bach turned to Felip, but stopped when his mother gestured to him.
“Felip is the reason I am free,” she responded, in between deep breaths.
“Mother, he is dangerous.” Bach wanted to make her understand.
“You are as bad as Wisteria. After all I have done, you cannot say thank you.” Felip approached.
“Let me look upon you again, because you have changed so much.” His mother inspected Bach. “There is nothing to fear from Felip.”
“We do not have time for this, Coia,” Felip interrupted.
She scowled at him.
Felip bowed toward her in seeming meekness. “Lady Coia, please forgive me, but we should leave while the Terrans are occupied with fighting the draug and the biters.” He sounded more contrite. “You will have plenty of time to reconnect with the Sen-Son after you are both regenerated.”
Bach pushed Felip back. “You say one more word to my mother and I will finally finish you.”