Light Speed

by Arkadie, Z. L.

  Adore is it you? she whimpers, only to me.

  I’m here. I answer her from within.

  I don’t want to see the endless rows of gray mortar; I want to see her already. As my impatience grows we come to an abrupt stop. Chex takes me once again and shoves me into another dark corner.

  “If you are afraid, then kill it right here and now,” he mutters. His bottomless eyes are staring into mine. I gulp; transfixed by them, even at a time like this. “We’re not going to win this if you’re scared.”

  “Is that how you’re able to do it so easily?” I manage to ask.

  His eyes expand and he puts his face a hair closer to mine. “You want to live?” he gruffly asks.

  “Yes,” I croak.

  “You see how close we are to your sister? Do you think we could’ve gotten here diplomatically?”

  My mind flashes pictures of the black creatures that attacked us from the depths of the mountains bordering the Mashlands, being chased by the live fire in the fields outside this desolate maze, and then coming face to face with a guard of Siffeo. If it weren’t for the light, he would’ve captured me and maybe I too would meet Na’ta’s fate.

  “No,” I conclude.

  He blinks, shocked by my response. “Right.” He smirks, not showing teeth. “Then let’s go get them.” Now he shows teeth.

  Chex steps out of the crook and into plain sight. He stands still, waiting for me to take my place at his side. I don’t have to heed his warning and make my fear die because I have none. I only have drive. I will do whatever it takes to relieve Na’ta’s angst. As a daughter of The House of Benel, it is my duty.

  I join him.

  He examines me to assess my resolve. I show him what he’s seeking. No longer doubtful, we streak forward.

  I know exactly where to go. Na’ta is strong within me. Feeling her distress makes the inside of my nostrils swell and my eyes well up with tears. My emotions are heightened. This is new to me. Could this be rage? Vengeance?

  Together we’ve already streaked through one of the broad entryways and we are now high up in a red sky. It is hotter here than any place I have been since being lured out of Enu. But Chex doesn’t stop to take in the ambiance. I’m a step behind him as he streaks down toward an enormous cone-shaped configuration, billows of fire swelling from its top. It’s not a mountain although it resembles one in height and mass; it’s made of a solid red stone that resembles a massive ruby. Creatures that look like the guards of Siffeo prance and gallop around it with stallion-like legs, performing some sort of shuffling dance.

  The creatures are too preoccupied with what they are doing to notice us. I wonder what they would do if they saw us. Would they attack? There are so many of them and only two of us. It almost looks like Chex is going to lead us right into their midst when he makes a sharp turn toward a low valley that holds the desolate forest of dead trees I saw in my dream. There they are: the wild, leafless branches sticking straight out from the bark like a sea of spiky, sharp spears.

  “There she is!” I cry out.

  It’s Na’ta! My heart sinks when I see her. She’s positioned upside down and her long black hair is dusty as it sweeps the dirt ground. And she’s being assaulted by one of the trees as one branch has punctured the black shirt she’s wearing and has gone clean through her heart and out of her back. Another branch stabs her through one thigh and a third branch through the other thigh.

  “Shit!” Chex shouts. “Already?”

  I look up to see what he’s referring to. I can’t count the number of guards of Siffeo that are shooting into the space above us from the doorway we entered, but there are many of them. I wonder if they rose again to life from the fiery mess Chex left them in. They all hover up high, searching for the trespassers. The chirping is so loud it’s like being gouged in the ears by one of the spear-tipped branches. I take a quick glance toward the creatures dancing around the pillar, hoping they don’t decide to join those that are hovering above us, exponentially increasing their numbers. What’s strange is that they don’t even acknowledge the flanks growing in the sky. They continue galloping and prancing and turning and bowing.

  Suddenly balls of fire are unleashed on us. It’s time to fight, so I lift both of my palms, sending my light to clash with their fire. On contact, the creatures screech as the flames wither into smoke. They are inherently connected to their fire like I am to my light.

  “Get her!” Chex shouts, motioning toward Na’ta. “And I’ll get them!” With that said and settled, he blazes up toward the sky.

  He’s so fast that my eyes lose track of him, but creatures are falling all around me, going down in puffs of smoke. And they all seem not to focus on me down below but are trying to locate Chex and stop him from picking them off in droves. Chex—what sort of Selell is he that he can kill so expertly?

  This gives me the opportunity to focus fully on freeing Na’ta. The tree that holds her captive has caught fire. I run as fast as I can to free her. When I reach her, I kneel down to put my face close to hers. “Na’ta…” I call in desperation.

  Her eyes are wide open but she looks dead already. Suddenly, I’m hit by a ball of smoke. I feel a temporary burning sensation before the fire extinguishes itself against my skin. The pal’k I’m wearing doesn’t go up in flames. It’s amazing. I must be untouchable by their weapon and so is Na’ta, which may be the reason she’s still alive.

  But I look down at my ankles because something has just wrapped around them and is squeezing tightly. It’s a branch from the same tree. I clamp my hands around it and douse it with the light and it quickly uncoils and squeals as it retreats from my grasp.

  My light is the answer.

  I press my hands against Na’ta’s cheek and fill her with it. Soon she’s glowing like the perfect sun as the i’lek’u infuses her. The branches that pierce her withdraw from her body. I catch her before she hits the ground and cradle her in my arms.

  “Na’ta,” I say, smoothing her hair from her face.

  She answers me by gazing deeply into my eyes before closing her own. She’s sleeping now, aware that I have her. And now we must escape. I’m sure we can take cover in the forest from which we came. The trees have proven to be my ally.

  Again, I look up to search for the way out. The sky is flooded with the guards of Siffeo. There are too many of them. It seems just as Chex sends one to the ground, another one appears. It would be impossible to break their flanks and get out unscathed. But I must.

  In my arms, Na’ta’s limp body is as light as a puek leaf. I make sure she’s secure in my grasp as I push off of my feet and surge toward the way out. I’m quick, but not fast enough. I come to an abrupt stop to face four pairs of hooves ready to clomp me back down to the hazardous forest. But suddenly - and almost simultaneously - the hooves take a free fall.

  “Go! Don’t stop!” Chex shouts as he swoops past me so fast that he’s a blur.

  He sounds confident in my ability to make it out of here unimpeded. And I drink in his certainty as I focus on the light that outlines the portal. Sets of hooves threaten to stop me again but I don’t let them spook me or deter my progress.

  I go, and I go, and I go, until I’m back under a smoky night sky and trapped between the walls of the ruins. It appears that we’re alone, but I know better than to stop to enjoy the false sense of relief. They’re here. I can feel them. I increase my pace as I walk the wind high, lifting way above this Potemkin village and head toward the mountains where the Mash creatures are flapping above the range as they rise out of its depths. I’m still determined not to stop.

  Way in the distance, the kark trees are a welcoming sight. It’s almost as if I can hear them calling us to them.

  “We’re almost there, Na’ta,” I whisper confidently as I streak straight ahead.

  Suddenly, I’m caught in a swarm of blackness. Panic sets in. I use all of my strength to hold Na’ta closer to me. I’ll die before I drop her. I’m waiting to be smothered by them like
before, but instead I’m drenched with water and then the darkness fades.

  The sound of water crashing against the arid surface below is deafening. It’s raining hard and I’m holding up in the downpour.

  When it finally stops, the ash creatures are mud. The water lifts up off the surface and forms into Ktkl, who stands right in front of me and about twenty other Mtknv creatures surround us, fencing us in.

  Before I’m able to thank Ktkl for rescuing us, more water gushes over me and I’m trapped in my own bulbous prison while still cradling Na’ta.

  Chapter 6

  The First Touch

  I am confused about why Ktkl would imprison me. Have I committed a crime against the Mtknv? I try to shift but the liquid is unyielding.

  “To the kark,” Na’ta says to me in a weak voice.

  I feel her trapped body shiver against me and panic starts to rule my reasoning.

  Then Chex appears outside our bubble and I’m able to see Ktkl glaring down at him. Water pours down over where Chex stands but he’s gone in a flash, evading the prison.

  It is time for me to summon the light. And when I do, it willingly obeys. The substance that entraps me is set alight. It gets brighter and brighter. The solid compound turns to liquid and then splashes to the ground. We’re free. The kark trees are not far away and I take off like Na’ta’s life depends on it.

  The sound of crashing water chases me but I will not be stopped. As soon as I enter the forest, the floppy branches pull Na’ta out of my arms, and I come to an abrupt stop. My heart is pounding. I gaze up to watch the strappy branches roll her deep into them until she’s curled up and fastened against the trunk of a tree. But they’re not done. A long twig snakes toward Na’ta’s mouth and slides in between her lips. It appears the trees are nourishing her.

  “That a good thing?” Chex asks as he appears at my side, squinting curiously up at my sister.

  “Yes, I think it is,” I sigh with relief. The normal blush in her cheeks is already returning. “But I don’t understand why Ktkl would attack us.”

  “Trust no one and then you won’t be surprised.”

  I ponder his words in silence. Surely he can’t distrust every creature, not after all we’ve been through together in this short period of time.

  “What about me?” I’m forced to ask him. “Do you trust me?”

  “No,” he says bluntly.

  “But why not?” I can’t mask the disappointment in my voice.

  As I wait to hear his reply, there’s a loud splash behind us. We both turn to find Ktkl watching us with his face contorted in anger. He happens to be alone.

  “Where is the vampire?” he roars so loudly that the tree leaves shake.

  I widen my eyes at Chex because I’m confused. Which Selell could he be referring to? Na’ta often travels with the Selell Telman, but he’s not present. Could he have committed offenses against the Mtknv too? Has Na’ta gotten herself into more trouble with another species of creatures as she often does?

  “He means Exgesis,” Chex mutters cynically out of the side of his mouth. “He must’ve given them the shake. He’s a slippery bastard.”

  “Is that true?” I ask Ktkl.

  “Yes. True.” His anger subsides a little. “You did not help him?” he asks me.

  “Absolutely not!” I attest and glance at Na’ta in the safety of the tree. “I told you that my priority was finding my sister.

  “He freed himself, just as you released yourself.”

  “He used the light?” I ask, sort of shocked.

  “Yes, he did.”

  “Se’im El’ko te,” I whisper gravely and touch my heart. I’m stunned by what I’ve come to realize. “He has the same powers that I have because we’re bonded.”

  “Fucking no way!” Chex shouts explosively.

  “But where did he go? Why didn’t he come back to help us?”

  I can’t believe it. I thought he was supposed to help me find my sister. He gave me his word.

  Chex snorts sarcastically. “You really are quite new, aren’t you?”

  I shake my head. “I don’t understand what you mean by that.”

  “Listen, Ad’ru? Right?”

  “If you’re asking if my name is Ad’ru then, yes.” I thought he knew my given name. Again, and I don’t understand why this is so, but I’m disappointed he has to ask.

  “Exgesis was never on your side,” he says frankly. “The only side he’s ever been on is his own. He wants something from you, and I don’t think you gave it to him—not yet.” Chex takes a thoughtful pause. “The only question to ask is why did he want you to come here with him? And, where the hell is he?”

  I sigh, frustrated, because I have no answers to such valid questions. My heart sinks because it becomes apparent to me that I cannot return to Enu as long as Lario Exgesis remains my bond. Now that I’ve stepped foot on the Earth, if I go home he will have my full capabilities. I cannot unleash such a being on any world.

  So, I set my jaw. “I’ll find him,” I affirm. “And he will face your justice.”

  I watch Ktkl’s powerful face move through a series of expressions as he ponders my words. He tilts his massive head back to zoom in on Na’ta.

  “I accept your vow,” he says.

  “Thank you,” I say sincerely.

  Ktkl immediately bursts into billions of tiny drops of water. I watch in awe as each droplet is sucked into one of the bulbous cumulus clouds racing across the murky sky. There’s still residue of wonderment in my eyes when I turn to look up at Chex because I can feel him staring at me.

  “You know what?” he asks.

  “What,” I barely say as I touch where my heart resides in my chest. This Selell should not have the ability to make my heart jump in such a manner.

  “I take it back. I trust you,” he says and winks at me with a smile, an actual, genuine, warm-hearted smile.

  “That makes me happy,” I say. I can feel the glee in my answering grin.

  “Good,” he lifts his eyebrows. “Because you’re the first person I ever said that to and meant it.”

  We stare at each other in silence. It feels as if we should kiss or something, but then that would not be appropriate. So I rip my eyes away from his face to study Na’ta in the tree. There’s no leaving until she is better. We’ll have to wait it out and I’ve never felt so grimy in my life. I look down at my dress and it is no longer free of stains—it has been soiled by ash, dust, smudges of wild grass, and even my own sweat. It is no longer wearable.

  “You want to get clean,” Chex asks while observing me observe myself.

  “Yes.” I take my dress by the hem and lift it but I only get as far as my upper thigh before he grabs me by the wrists.

  “Whoa!” he shouts. “You can’t do that!”

  “But I can’t keep it on because it’s tarnished,” I complain.

  “But you can’t get naked either. I’m a vampire but I’m still a man, you know?”

  “No. I don’t understand.” I frown at him confused, and I’m slightly agitated by how tightly he’s holding my wrists. “Can you let go of me please?”

  “Only if you promise not to take your clothes off.”

  I sigh hard. I didn’t think Selells had an issue with nudity. Certainly my sister’s bonds have no issue with theirs, or mine.

  “I promise,” I say finally because by no means do I want to make him uncomfortable.

  He removes his hands but keeps his eyes pinned to my hips for a few moments before putting them back on my face.

  “Follow me,” he says.

  I hesitate because I don’t want to go where Na’ta is out of my sight.

  “She’ll be fine.” He sounds sure of that. He even holds out the palm of his hand for me to take. It’s such an inviting gesture from one so austere that I can’t but rest my palm on top of his.

  He gazes down at my fingers. “Ah,” he breathes softly, “still so new.”

  Before I can ask what he means by “ne
w,” he whisks me away. We sweep past hefty, aged kark trees as we journey deeper into this dark forest. Chex seems to know his way around like he has been here before too. I’m wondering just that when there’s an abrupt change of scenery. We’re standing at the edge of a natural pool of bubbling clear water.

  I’m so excited to see it that I reach out and squeeze his shoulder. “How did you find this?”

  “I found it before the water creatures found me.”

  I smile at him because he called the Mtknv creatures and not monsters on my behalf. All of a sudden we’re once again locked in each other’s gaze. What’s happening to me? First it was Lario Exgesis who made me feel this way and there was a good reason for it. We are bonded. But I cannot be bonded to Chex as well; and yet his touch, his smile, even the wicked one and even his voice suddenly makes the inside of my stomach flutter.

  “Well,” he begins, “I’ll leave you to it.”

  “No way,” I grab hold of his arm this time. “You must join me.”

  He shakes his head and takes a step away from me. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”

  “Yes, I do. I don’t mind the nakedness. Where I’m from we primarily do not wear garments.” I feel the need to explain.

  “Or panties,” he mutters with his eyes fastened to my groin.

  “No,” I timidly reply as I fleetingly remember what panties are. I have never worn them, but I do know they are Earth garments. The bigger problem is that I cannot bathe alone because I don’t like being by myself and his companionship is beyond sufficient. “But, I’m fine with it and I swim naked with Tryst all the time,” I say in my effort to further convince him to join me.

  “Who the hell is Tryst?” he says with a laugh.

  “He’s my friend…” The amusement in his expression makes me take a tentative pause, “…at home,” I say feebly. I don’t think Chex takes me seriously much. I’m beginning to understand what he means by “new.” However, he must understand that he’s new to me too.