‘What do we do?’ my keeper shouts, her body tensed.
There’s no possibility of escape for us. We don’t even know where we are, and no matter where we go these Chosen will follow us. There is no possibility of escape for us… no, for her.
If I want to survive, I have only one choice: to allow them to take my keeper, giving me a chance to escape. They want her, not me. If I ran, they wouldn’t waste time chasing me. Our bond will still be active, but I’ll be able to survive away from her now. Yes. Yes, I can survive this. I can escape from this. I can… I… I…
‘And y’know, Korren? I think that’s something you can believe in.’
I look at her, her copper hair cascading out behind her, her green eyes intent.
‘I don’t want to be the one to keep you chained.’
You…
‘I pictured an ally, a friend…’
What are you? Who are you? I have never met a Chosen like you in my entire existence. You are everything that is free. You are freedom. And I… I’m the bird trapped in the cage, watching you fly away. But then, you look back at me, you always look back, and you reach through the bars and offer your hand to me. Though I am nothing, though I am just a heartless creature, you still offer me your hand. But I won’t take it. I won’t, because… what will happen to us if I do?
It doesn’t matter. None of it matters. Because you were kind to me, you made me laugh—that isn’t something I will forget easily, and I will repay you.
I growl. Damn it. Damn it all. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.
But it is.
‘Go, little lion.’
She looks at me. ‘What?’
‘Go! I’ll make sure you’re safe.’
‘I-I can’t just leave you!’
‘This is my duty. Go.’
‘No!’
‘I’ll come back,’ I say to her. Where else have I got to go?
‘You won’t know where I am!’
I look at her. ‘I will always know where you are.’
She doesn’t move. Leaving me, I grasp, is significant to her.
‘I’ll protect you,’ I say, ‘that’s my purpose. Go. I’ll make sure you’re safe.’
‘Korren—’
‘Go now. Go!’
She hesitates another moment before running up the pathway on the mountain.
A few seconds after she’s gone, I’m faced by the purple-haired girl, who wears brown, buckled boots with black leggings, a black leather bandolier, laced arm cuffs, a beige corset and a leather coat reaching to her chest; a boy wearing brown trousers and a russet-brown long coat strapped from the collar down to the waist by buckles fringed with a gold colour, the hood of which skims the top of his head so I can see his sandy-coloured hair; and a black-haired boy with lip piercings who wears a white shirt with a black vest over it, and grey trousers with boots with laces undone. Several Duwyn beasts stand at his side, bearing their teeth at me. There is only one kytaen among them, of the element earth; that tells me that at least one of these Chosen is a Throne.
‘Where’s the Pulsar, Heleus?’ demands the black-haired boy.
‘Not far,’ says the sandy-haired boy, Heleus. ‘Her kytaen’s obviously buying her time.’
‘Do we go after her?’ the girl says.
I let out a deep roar fearsome enough to make them take a step back.
‘Almost blew my ears from my head,’ says the girl, and she puts her hands out in a peaceful gesture. ‘We’re not your enemy, kytaen. You can come with us. We won’t harm you.’
I growl. I would have attacked them by now, but hopefully this talk is giving my keeper enough time to escape.
‘Don’t bother, Suki,’ the black-haired boy says. ‘It hasn’t got a mind of its own. Just kill it.’
‘Jupiter wouldn’t want that, Kai,’ says Heleus.
The girl, Suki, vanishes so suddenly that my talons dig into the ground.
‘Sorry about this.’ I hear her voice, but I don’t see—
Pain sears across me like a boiling blanket is covering my head, but after a moment the pain fades. Instead I feel so… tired. My world spins black. I’m losing… losing con—
As soon as my eyes close, they open again. There is a heavy ache across my body as if my muscles are exhausted and worn, though I don’t know why. I’m in my human form with a raggedy shirt and trousers on, and my hands are tied behind a post. I can hear a crowd around me, shouting, jeering. My eyes adjust, and then they widen.
I’m surrounded by hundreds of Chosen, some looking terrified, others glaring, ready to tear me apart. So I was right: these are the rebels that attacked the Temples, the enemies of the Imperium, and therefore the Pulsar, the most important puppet of theirs… and I am her kytaen.
_________________
After being subjected to the taunts and objects that are thrown at me, I’m blindfolded and led somewhere. I don’t transform, knowing that, while I may be able to kill a few rebels, I’ll ultimately be overpowered. Whoever is orchestrat-ing my arrest knows what they’re doing. I can only assume they tied me up and displayed me to the rebels not because they wanted me to be jeered at, but because they wanted me to know how many Chosen there are here, that I stood no chance of escaping. Perhaps the rebels outside didn’t know that—the Chosen who is pulling the strings certainly does.
I’m thrown onto a hard floor, and my blindfold, removed. A man stands over me, glaring, then moves away. I’m in a cell with only a swinging light for illumination. The cell has no bars, but I notice from how there is a gleam as the light hits it that there is a barrier, invisible almost. I kick it, just to be sure, and not only does the barrier pulsate with electricity, but I too receive a shock. As I recover, lolling my head back and forth, I also discern the walls surrounding me are made of steel. Facing me are other cells, none of them with bars but with three steel walls surrounding them.
‘Hehehehe. She’s caught another insect in her web, that wretched demon.’ It is a woman’s voice, harsh and gritty, like gravel crunching together.
The man turns to the cell opposite, which is concealed in darkness. ‘Shut it, you nutter.’
‘Death. Decay. Destruction. That will be my retribution! He will not abandon me! He will smite you for your crimes!’
‘I said shut it, witch!’
‘Now, now, Cardvall, I told you to ignore her.’ Another woman, though with a sane voice, steps into the light. She has long, curling blonde hair, and her eyes are a shade of brown. She wears a leather under-bust harness atop a dark-brown vest, a dark, open trench coat, and tight brown trousers with buckled boots that go to her knees. Judging from her overall appearance, she’s at least in her thirties.
The man steps away from the cell. ‘Yeah, sorry. She just, I mean, I just—’
I hear the jostle of chains, and from the darkness of the cell a pale face snaps out. The first thing I notice is that she’s wearing a muzzle, but my gaze is soon drawn to her eyes, which are black and wild and fervent, with shadows circling under them. Her hair is dark, thin and long, so long it spider webs across the cell and against the walls. Her hands are bound together by a thick casing of metal, and two chains connected to the wall attach onto a collar around her neck.
She screeches and laughs. ‘Despair, for here she is, the woman of wiles! The dead scream for her coming. They scream and scream and scream and scream!’
‘They’ll have to scream a little while longer, I’m afraid,’ the other woman says, and then turns to me. ‘Go right ahead and ignore our… permanent guest. She’s enthusiastic, for lack of a better word.’ She bends her back slightly as she observes me. I hold her gaze, trying to figure out what kind of person she is. ‘Well, you’re not the Pulsar, but you may be of some use.’
‘Who are you?’ I growl.
‘My name is Jupiter, and you are at Starfall’s outpost.’
‘Starfall?’
‘A place out of the Imperium’s reach.’
‘You’re rebels.’
‘Pulsar! Pulsar!’ the inmate shouts. ‘Ah, at last! Liberation is near. Freedom from this dismal dungeon. Your time is near near near, master, for a Pulsar is born again!’
Cardvall looks over to her, but with Jupiter watching, only stands glaring.
‘You attacked my keeper,’ I continue to Jupiter, ‘I was ordered to defend her.’ Not necessarily true, but it’s imperative that I make myself out to be a simple kytaen who obeys his keeper; that way they might harbour some pity for me and not kill me, at least not right away.
‘How did you do it?’ I say.
‘Be less ambiguous,’ she says.
‘The maiden. Your rebels said they were controlling it.’
‘My rebels, eh? I did think them as my own.’
‘But you’re with them, aren’t you?’
‘Is that what you think?’ She smiles a sort of amused smile. ‘I didn’t come here to answer your questions, kytaen. You’re here to answer mine.’
I stare at her. I don’t want to answer her questions; I want to be like my keeper, defiant and rude, but I’m in no place to offend Jupiter. I won’t die for the sake of pride.
‘First of all,’ she says, ‘what happened to my… to the rebels that attacked you?’
‘They killed many Magen and soldiers,’ I reply.
‘They killed Magen?’
‘You look surprised.’
It takes her a moment to compose herself. ‘What happened after that?’
‘I don’t know how, but they managed to unleash a maiden, control it even, for a time.’
‘And did you see who was controlling it?’
‘No.’
She looks worried. ‘Tell me, what was their objective, the attackers?’
‘Why ask me? You should know. You’re part of their group.’
She leans towards me, the light catching the glint in her eyes. ‘I would strongly suggest answering the question, kytaen.’
I stare at her for moment. Her gaze is unyielding, and I can see I’m not going to get away with being defiant. ‘Their objective was to get my keeper, to cut her strings, whatever that means. They also wanted to find a relic, one I’ve never seen before. It was an urn, but I never found out what it did.’
She sniggers. ‘I’m well aware of what it does and what it is.’
‘And, what is it?’
‘Something dark and ancient. Something that should never be allowed to bask in the light of the sun or breathe in the air.’
‘Something bad then,’ I say.
‘The relic,’ begins Cardvall, ‘they don’t have it, do they?’
‘They do,’ I reply.
Cardvall mutters a swear.
‘Did the Pulsar open it?’ asks Jupiter, looking just as alarmed as him.
‘No,’ I say. ‘It’s lost now. When the maiden destroys itself, it’ll take that thing to oblivion with it.’
‘Somehow, I doubt that very much.’
‘What is the relic for?’ I ask.
She looks at me. ‘People seek chaos, kytaen, sometimes without even realising it. Chaos is the natural order of the universe.’
‘That’s what you’re trying to do? Give the world chaos?’
‘Who said I wanted that? I’m only telling you what that relic holds within it. Now, answer me this: why did the rebels send you to the cursed land? I don’t understand why they would want you there. I’d have thought they’d want to send you closer to Starfall. We were prepared for that.’
‘I don’t know what happened,’ I reply. ‘One of the rebels said they were trying to locate the ‘outpost’, but apart from that I can only guess they didn’t find the destination in time.’
She nods her head. ‘It would have been Demetri. He’s very young.’
I’m not sure if she’s playing some sort of game with me, but she’s making it sound as if the rebels that attacked us aren’t part of her group, or at least, not until recently. So if she’s not with the ones who attacked us…
‘I’m guessing from what you’ve said that you haven’t captured my keeper,’ I say.
‘No, and believe me when I say it would’ve been better for her if we had,’ Jupiter says.
‘Why? Why do you want her?’
‘Why would I want the Pulsar?’ she says, with a mocking smile. ‘Why would a rebel want a Pulsar? You ask a strange question, kytaen.’
I look to the inmate opposite me, who is silent, staring at me intently, maddeningly, and I fiddle with my bound hands. ‘What do you want with me?’
‘Oh, I don’t know yet,’ says Jupiter, a smile creeping onto her lips. ‘Maybe a lot, if you’re willing.’
‘It seems I haven’t much of a choice,’ I say, looking around the cell.
‘That’s not entirely true. I’ll give you a choice, like I do every other kytaen.’
I raise an eyebrow. Other kytaen? ‘A choice over what?’
‘Life and death of course. I don’t intend to keep a kytaen prisoner; it wastes resources. When I give you the choice, you’ll decide your fate. The question is, how willing are you to die?’
‘Not very,’ I say.
She smiles. ‘Did you like the present I gave you, by the way?’
‘Present?’
She gestures to my wrist, and I only just notice there’s a thick metal bracelet around it.
‘What is this?’ I say.
‘A precaution,’ she says. ‘It stops you from changing to your kytaen form.’
So I test it. I try to transform, something that comes to me as naturally as breathing, but there’s something blocking me, something unmovable.
I look up at Jupiter and meet her gaze. She’s still smiling.
‘Oh, I should remind you that if you attempt an escape,’ she says, ‘you will die. If there is a possibility, as slim as it is, that you escape from your cell, our guards will slaughter you.’
The inmate begins to spasm, writhing and rattling her chains. She screams and cries and curses, and Jupiter looks at her with what I can only discern as pity.
‘I’ll send Nanaf,’ she says to Cardvall. ‘New company’s troubled her.’
‘It would be kinder to kill her,’ he says.
‘But we’ll not deliver that kindness.’ With that, they leave us in the half-light.
Rebels. The last few days have given me cause to know they exist, but I didn’t know they were thriving. There were so many, and probably many more. I’m not sure what they want, though I can take a guess: rebels are against the Imperium, and my keeper is the embodiment of the Imperium. With her, the rebels could make any demands. With her, they can bring the Imperium to a stop. With the Pulsar in a rebellion’s hands, they could do almost anything. But what that might be, I don’t know.
I have no idea where I am or if my keeper is alive, but right now, all I can contemplate is whether I will survive the night.
LEONIE
WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?
Damn it, Korren, I think as I run up the mountain. My lips are parched, I can hardly breathe, but I keep running. I want to turn back and face our enemies together, but if our enemies really were the rebels, then no doubt I’d soon be eyeing Death’s scythe with a lump in my throat. Then what of Korren? Isn’t he facing that very image right now? Have I once again abandoned someone to die? He chose this, I think to myself. He told me to run. He insisted. I didn’t have to run. I could have stayed by his side. The truth of my cowardice hits me: I was afraid of dying and dismissed the thought of Korren dying for me.
I slow, despite knowing I may be being followed. I have to go back. I can’t leave him to face our enemies alone. He said his purpose was to protect me, and maybe he really does believe that.
I do not. His purpose shouldn’t be to keep me alive—I firmly believe that. You can’t be told your reason for existing, you have to find it yourself, and you have to live a full life to realise what it is. Korren, he may have lived for
thousands of years, but those years were lived in servitude; he’s never had a chance to live. And I’ve left him to die with an obstinate, consuming belief in his heart that his only purpose is to serve. You have a purpose, Korren, I think, but that is not it.
I turn. I’m being reckless, sentimental, and utterly, incom-prehensibly foolish. I can’t let him die for me, though. I just can’t. I run towards where I left him, the steep decline of the mountain slowing me. I might be too late. Still… still, I have to go back; I have to confront these rebels who want me, not him.
I don’t find them. I’m not exactly sure where we were when we were ambushed; I took so many turns and twists to get up the mountain, and I don’t remember this view. I think about calling for Korren to get someone’s attention, though I figure that would be kind of dumb. As dumb as what you’re doing now? I ask myself.
I round a corner and—
Someone tackles me, slamming their whole body into mine and sending me crashing onto the ground and almost over the edge of the mountain. I feel like a steel-jaw trap has snapped on my arm, but I ignore it—I have to, if I want to survive. I scramble onto my feet and begin to run, when arms wrap around my legs and bring me down again.
‘Leonie, stop! Stop!’
That voice.
I turn, and Sersu—Sersu—is looking back at me. Her blonde hair is tousled and she’s covered in ash and blood. I notice a glimmer of silver; the relic I gave her stands beside her.
There’s three things I have to comprehend, and fast: one is that she is not dead, that I did not kill her; two is that whatever that relic is, nothing good will come out of it; and the third is that if I don’t get away from Sersu, the rebels that captured or killed Korren will find me and do… I don’t even know what to me. I wanted to face the rebels, but my instinct to run is stronger.
I try to stand, but her grip is tight, a soldier’s grip.
‘Listen to me!’ she begs. ‘I won’t hurt you—I never wanted to hurt you! Please, you have to listen to me!’
I don’t reply, just concentrate on escaping her grip.
‘All I wanted was to help you achieve your potential!’ she shouts. ‘You have to believe me. I never wanted you to get hurt. I didn’t want any of this, I swear.’
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