by Izzy Shows
No doubt there was a different jail for the warriors, for they were dangerous—but did they not understand that I was a warrior as well? They feared me and my powers, but it seemed they had put me in an area that did not have much in the way of protection for them.
A quick glance outside the bars of my cell proved there was insufficiently advanced technology outside—security cameras. When I neared the bars, I could hear the hum of electricity meant to cage me in.
Their technology was primitive in comparison to what we Stryx had enjoyed in our prime, and it would not be difficult to bend the electric current to my will if I truly wished to do so. But I was not interested in escaping. I wanted to prove my innocence.
I heard the sound of a door opening, boots striking the steel floor, and Anders appeared in front of my cell.
He was alone.
"I am sorry, Xiva," he said, and I could hear weariness in his voice. "They left me no choice."
"I understand," I said a little haltingly. "In the face of such a crowd, it is difficult to maintain control."
He appeared a little relieved by that, by the knowledge that I understood why he'd done what had to be done.
"I believe in your innocence," he said, and I frowned. I did not know the last word.
"Innocence?" I asked.
"That you didn't do this. But my hands are tied. There’s nothing I can do right now."
I came closer to the bars, eager now. "What if I know who has done this?"
"And you've kept that to yourself?"
"No." I shook my head emphatically. "I only just learned it. I read her mind. I heard her thoughts. She was glad to be able to say it was me."
He shuddered. "You can read minds?"
I waved a hand, irritated that he chose to focus on that. "Yes, it is natural. But that is not important. Mersssssee did this."
"Mercy?" He frowned. "I don't know if I can believe that. If I can take your word on it. Although she was very eager to have you and Kaidan taken away."
"Yes, she was," I said. "Bring her to me. Leave a device so you can hear us speak, and you will hear her admission."
He hesitated, clearly not happy about the situation. I knew without needing to reach for his mind that he was focusing on the knowledge that I could read his mind, rather than Mersssssee.
"Anders," I said. "This is important. She will continue if you do not stop her."
At last, he gave in. "All right. I'll bring her in."
He left, and I was alone for only a minute before he returned and handed me a small device that fit in my hand.
"Hold on to that. It will pick up your conversation."
I nodded.
"I'll get her now."
Once more he left, and I was alone. I resisted the urge to begin pacing again, knowing that it would do me little good. I was going to prove my innocence. There was nothing the crowd could do in the face of a full confession.
I only hoped that Anders wouldn't think I had controlled her mind in the way she had accused me of doing to Kaidan. I didn't even think that was possible; certainly, it had never been done before.
But that was because Zvarr and I were the first with telepathic abilities. There had been no one before us capable of such a thing, and it had earned us the suspicion and distrust of many a community member before we established over time that we would not betray their privacy.
Was it possible? Had Zvarr bent others to his will in the past and simply not told me about it?
I shuddered at the thought. I couldn't imagine anything more terrifying than having someone take control of your mind and forcing you to do things against your will. I would never do that to someone, no matter how much I might hate them.
It was the worst kind of invasion.
At long last, the door opened again.
"I don't see why I have to come here," Mersssssee said.
"Xiva wanted to speak to you."
"But why does she get a say in what happens?"
"Just humor her. She can't do anything to you from in there. You’re perfectly safe."
To his credit, Anders was playing his role admirably. I almost believed that he didn't believe me, and was in fact humoring me. It was only the device in my hand that reminded me of the truth: that he was on my side.
Mersssssee stomped over to the front of my cell, looking at me with venom in her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Well?" she snapped.
And the door shut at last.
"You are a traitor," I said, speaking slowly to ensure that I got the words right. "You have betrayed your people."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"No? You have not been harming the goals of your people? You do not wish for them to leave Eyrus?"
"71 Charos B," she spat. "That's the name of this godforsaken rock."
My lips lifted in a snarl to reveal my sharpened canines, and she took a fearful step back.
"Do not speak so of my home."
Her cheeks flamed, but she did not apologize, and instead lifted her chin. "I don't see why everyone wants to be here, anyway. And I sure as hell don't understand why you want them here. It's your home. You should want to keep it to yourself."
"Is that how you feel of your home? You would not share it?"
She wrinkled her nose as if she had smelled something awful. "Hell, no, I wouldn't share it. Earth is for humans, no one else, and humans sure as hell don't belong out in the galaxy, on some planet they weren't born on."
"But your children would be from here, no? They would call this world home, and it would be good."
I truly did not understand how she could not see the good in Anders' mission, but that was getting away from the point. I needed her confession, not her opinions.
"My children will be born on Earth, or not at all. They certainly won't be born anywhere where you filthy aliens can get to them. You took my sister from me. You won't get any more humans."
I frowned. "What do you speak of?"
Pain rippled through her features, and she looked away from me. "My sister was kidnapped by some aliens, a few years back. They tortured her, raped her, and killed her."
My heart clenched. "Vivoth save her, I am so sorry. That is a terrible thing, a horrid pain to live with in your heart."
She lifted her chin, her eyes flaring defiantly. "I don't need any alien's sympathy. You're all the same, and you'd all hurt us at the first opportunity. That's why I joined the purist movement: to keep humans safe from aliens, to make sure you'll never hurt anyone ever again."
"Purist?"
"Yeah." She shrugged. "It means we believe in keeping the human race pure. No intermingling with aliens, and no living in space. If we terraform your planet, it'll only be a matter of time before relations open up with other aliens. And then the pain will start."
I frowned. "But…your home…is dying? Yes? You will die there."
"Better to die on Earth than at the hands of aliens," she snarled.
I couldn't understand her logic, how she could feel such hatred for not just one species, but many different species. She had grouped everyone who was not human together, and she hated them with such a passion that it was clear that no one would ever change her mind. That was a sad thought, but at least the truth had come out while there was still time to stop her.
"This is why you destroyed things?"
"I would do anything to stop this mission," she said, and she looked quite smug. "And there's nothing anyone can do about it. Although it does kind of suck that I can't keep blaming it on you. You were such a perfect scapegoat."
I didn't understand the word 'scapegoat,' and she spoke so fast that I missed many of the other words, but it was clear that she'd confessed.
And she wasn't done yet.
"It's probably for the best, though, I should lie low for a while. Maybe I'll hire some more pirates to do the dirty work for me—although they're a bunch of fuck-ups. Couldn't take out the goddamn ship before we lande
d here, and they couldn't even kill you. Ugh. You'd think killing one evil temptress who came to seduce all the men would be an easy enough job, but apparently not."
My eyes widened in horror. "You are the reason they attacked us?"
"Duh," she said, contempt in her eyes. "What, you thought they just randomly decided to land on your planet—a planet everyone has known to be barren since the dawn of time? Don't be so thick."
"That's enough." Anders' voice was furious as he strode into the room.
Mersssssee froze, her lips still open as if she were about to say something, but she clearly didn't dare move a muscle.
"I am so disappointed in you, Mercy. I can't believe you would do this to your own people."
She spun around, galvanized into motion once more. "I did it for my people! Someone has to keep them safe from themselves. You don't understand—she's the real threat! She and all the aliens!"
But he already had the cuffs locking around her wrists—cuffs that immediately forced her hands down in front of her, immobilizing her.
"You will be jailed until such time as it is prudent to return to Earth. I’m only sorry that I can’t return you sooner. I hope for your sake that you will use the time to think about what you’ve done, what you’ve risked, and see the error of your ways. Before you go to trial on Earth, while there's still time to save yourself."
He strode to my cell and placed a hand on a keypad in front of the door. The bars slid to the side.
"You're free to go, Xiva," he said, smiling. "Thank you for your hard work."
But I could not smile back at him. What she had said stung too much, left such a bad taste in my mouth, that I didn't think I would smile for a while.
At least I was free.
Xiva
Free.
It was a beautiful word, one I would never take for granted again. I had not been free in…ever, actually, come to think of it. I had been contained in one way or another throughout my entire life; there had never been a moment when I had been free to be myself, though I had at least had freedom of movement and speech as the High Priestess.
Ever since the battle with Zvarr, though, that had been taken from me. I had plunged myself into the bowels of Eyrus, and then, when I was unearthed, I had been treated as a prisoner, albeit in a polite fashion.
And then they had made me an actual prisoner, even though it had been for a short time.
I hoped that now I would be given more freedom, treated as an independent person, at least, and that I wouldn't have to fear every word that came out of my mouth and watch the suspicion in others' eyes as they looked at me.
Perhaps all that was too much to hope for, but I dearly wanted it.
I walked beside Anders to the room where Kaidan was being held. It was not a cell, not like the one I'd been in. Apparently, there was something about Kaidan that meant he couldn't be jailed in such a fashion; there was too much risk that he might break out.
Again, I wondered at how they'd been willing to think I was powerful enough to be able to damage their machines from such a great distance, and yet not powerful enough to warrant such a room myself. It was quite conflicted thinking, but I supposed I should be grateful for it.
I might not have been able to get the confession if I'd been put in a special room.
But what is different about Kaidan that he had to be placed in a special room?
Was it possible that they had detected the differences in him that I had, the ones that pointed to his ability to manipulate energy in the same way that my people could? I doubted it, because then they would have known to try such a thing on their own before, and they all had looked at my magic with great suspicion and distrust. It was clear that magic was not a part of their lives.
So, it wasn't magic they feared. What, then?
I would have to ask Kaidan as soon as we were alone.
At last we reached the block where he was being held, and Anders led me to one of the doors, which he opened.
My heart leapt into my throat at the sight before me. Kaidan was chained to a wall with a collar fitted about his neck. It was a thin circle of metal, and when he shifted his head to look at the two of us, I saw a shock of electricity jump from it to his skin.
He didn't so much as flinch.
"Why?" I demanded, turning to Anders.
His cheeks were flushed. "It's standard protocol for a Raider, Xiva. I didn't have any say in it. I wouldn't have let them lock him up like this if I'd been able to stop it. But there's no changing protocol."
"A Raider?"
He looked uneasy. "I think that's something Norton should tell you about himself."
The low growl that came from across the room told me that Kaidan agreed with this assessment.
"Release him!"
"Yes, of course, of course," he said, apparently remembering that that was what we were here for. He walked over to Kaidan, then hesitated. "I'm sorry, Norton. I'm going to remove the collar now."
That same low growl was the only response he got.
Anders held a device up next to Kaidan's neck, and at once the collar snapped open. He reached up and snatched it off, and Kaidan seemed to relax somewhat. Then he unlocked the chains, and Kaidan stood, rubbing one wrist with his other hand.
"Again, I am terribly sorry that you had to go through that, even for a short time. It's truly a barbaric practice, but…"
"But that's how it works for Raiders," Kaidan said bitterly. "You don't have to remind me."
"Again, I am sorry."
Kaidan shrugged. "Can I go? I'd rather not stick around this room if I can help it."
"Yes, of course. Xiva seemed to want to speak to you, which is why I brought her…" He trailed off, looking over at me.
Kaidan's eyes focused on me for the first time. He'd been glaring at Anders the entire time since we'd walked in. The look in his eyes would have made me think he hadn't realized I was here, but of course he had.
Now, there was shame in his eyes, shame I longed to take away.
He walked out without a word, and I followed him. I sensed that this was not something he wanted to speak about, but the questions burned my lips.
Why were you caged in such a way? What is a Raider? What was that collar?
The questions flew around and around my mind, but I didn't dare to give voice to them. The tension in his shoulder blades, the way he carried himself, kept me quiet. I didn't know where he was going, but I intended to follow unless he told me to go away.
On and on we went, through the corridors, until I started to recognize where we were: the hall of the bed chambers.
He stopped at mine. He put one hand on the panel, and the door slid open—a door that only he could open, I remembered somewhat bitterly.
"Are you putting me away?" I asked, unable to remain silent.
He didn't look at me. "I don't want to talk right now."
I forced my face to remain neutral, though it didn't particularly matter since he wouldn't look at me.
"Why not?"
He remained silent.
I sighed. Why must he be so difficult?
"Come in," I said, and strode past him into the room.
He wavered at the door, clearly uncertain whether he should continue with his previous plan to leave me here. I didn't know how he thought it would be okay to stick me in another room after I'd just come out of a jail cell, but I doubted he was thinking all that clearly.
While I paced in a small room, he was caged to a wall and shocked every time he moved a muscle. It is not a fair comparison.
I had to remember that.
I waited patiently until at last he stepped into the room and pressed his hand to the panel that closed the door.
I patted the spot next to me on the bed, but he shook his head and began to pace like a caged animal.
"You do not want to be inside," I said.
He looked at me, surprised. "How…?"
"Your heart is wild, warrior. To be caged…" I shook my he
ad. "It is a pain that many do not understand."
His lower lip twitched. "You're right. I don't want to be inside right now. But I don't think it's wise for you to be out and about, which is why I brought you back here."
"Yes, it is smart to wait until Anders can tell everyone. They will see me and be fearful for now."
He nodded. "You get it. How do you get it so easily? How do you just accept the way things are?"
I shrugged. "What can I do to change it? Nothing. It is not possible to change their minds, not for me. Anders must speak to them. They will learn, but it will be slow."
"Yes, but how do you deal with that?" he said, his tone rising sharply as he dragged a hand over his hair.
I frowned, searching for the word in my mind, but it would not come to me. "How do you say many, many years?"
"Decades?" He quirked an eyebrow.
"How many is that?"
"A decade is ten."
"More."
His eyes widened. "What, centuries?"
"And that is how many?"
"A hundred."
My eyes gleamed. "Yes. Centuries of practice."
He swore. "Sorry, sorry, language. Just, uh, you sure don't look it."
I frowned. "All my people look so at this age."
The look on his face was comical. "Yeah, well, by human standards, you look like you're, say, mid-twenties. Maybe."
"A child!" I gaped at him. "I look like a child?"
"No, twenty is not a child," he said, his eyes wrinkling at the corners as he smiled. "Twenty is an adult."
"How odd. How old are you?"
Thank the gods I have him talking. Perhaps he can forget his pain for a moment.
"Thirty-eight," he said, and he watched me carefully.
"Child," I teased, smiling at him.
"Now, listen here, little lady," he said, striding over to me so that he towered over me, but I saw the humor in his eyes.
Refusing to be intimidated, I stood up—and immediately recognized my mistake. He was too close now. There were mere inches between us, and the tension in the room escalated immediately.
"I'd say I'm a full-grown male," he said, his voice husky.
My skin pulsed rapidly, and I looked away from him. "Yes, well…"