Jeremy wondered how this potter from some ridiculously peaceful land came into possession of this kind of relic. It didn’t matter. She wouldn’t hold on to it for much longer. He let her go. As Kayla slowly pulled her hand back, the blade completely retracted; it was just an unusual bone again.
Staring at the blood dripping down his arm, she put the hilt back in her pocket. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “I asked for it.” He held the wound with his other hand, and began walking back towards camp.
She rushed to catch up with him. “I know it’s just one more day, but I…shouldn’t…trust you, should I?” she asked softly.
Jeremy looked down at her. Already, understanding was muddying the clear pools he glimpsed beneath her citrine stare. His throat felt tight, but the necessary words came out anyways. “Kayla, either way…we both know you’re not leaving.”
She nodded. Nothing more needed to be said. They walked back, their eyes trained ahead, and their silence, for once, comfortable.
*
The sun would be setting soon, they still weren’t in Torin, and Kayla was tired of walking. She tried to show no signs of fatigue, but her facial muscles refused to relax, clenching her features into a pained expression. They were walking on the shore of what was once a lake or an ocean…she couldn’t be sure which. It was dried up, for as far as she could see, and all that was left was sand, trash, and bones. She kept her feet on the shore; to go any further felt like walking on a grave. On the opposite side there was dense foliage, bushes with heavy, sharp leaves, and trees that dropped dark, spiny seeds. Was there a way through that led to the town? After a while, she noticed that Jeremy and Kittie were looking around like they were expecting a signal or landmark, and she hoped that meant they were close to their destination.
“We’re here, Jeremy,” Kittie piped out suddenly.
Kayla turned her head from side to side; nothing was different. She looked to Jeremy questioningly.
His irritation had been steadily growing in the past few hours, and it escaped now as a tiny explosion. “Well, goddammit, call our ride then, Kit!”
As usual, Kittie was unaffected by his choler. “Okay!” She ran out beyond the border of trees, her large pack bouncing.
Jeremy didn’t watch her go. He was staring into the setting sun, on the horizon of the empty sea.
“What now?” Kayla asked softly.
He seemed to have relaxed. When he turned his head back to her, the tense lines were gone. “We wai—” His eyes shifted, looking past her, wrath beginning in his stare and quickly distorting his features. In an instant, his sword was drawn from over his shoulder and brought down in a slashing arc just inches from her right side.
Kayla caught her breath, stiffening. Holding her body still, her eyes followed Jeremy as he swung his sword again, this time to her left, connecting with the two smaller blades of his adversary. Their attacker wore a poncho, loose and tattered pants, and his arms and lower legs were wrapped in strips of cloth, all in various shades of brown and tan. Only his eyes could be seen; he was covered by a long wrap that coiled loosely around his head and neck, ending in a heavy drape between his shoulders. The hair that poked through the cowl as dust-stiffened locks in his face and a long ponytail behind were the same color as his fierce eyes: a weathered brown that was tempered by the desert’s sun and sand-strewn winds.
Jeremy pressed the stranger back and Kayla was able to scramble a safe distance away. Out of immediate danger, she quickly noticed the newcomer’s manner was vicious, but oddly calm, making Jeremy’s rabid approach to battle seem almost sloppy. Each of Jeremy’s strikes looked as if they would land, but somehow the man was evading them, usually skewing the attacks to one side or another, leaving Jeremy in a vulnerable position, if only for an instant before he righted himself. She watched tensely, fearing this vagabond that appeared out of nowhere, this stranger who possessed the ability to sneak so close to her before either one of them noticed. What would have happened to her if Jeremy hadn’t turned and saw him at that moment?
She heard a gunshot behind her. Whirling around, she saw Kittie running in her direction, her upper body twisted to the side, her weapon trained on the pirates they encountered a few days ago. “Jeremy, it’s on its way!” she cried out as she reached Kayla.
The sudden appearance of the pirates was less frightening. They stayed a few yards away under threat of Kittie’s weapon, their nervous eyes rarely leaving the hooded man. Still, if Jeremy was defeated, there would only be Kittie’s gun to protect them from five strange men. Kayla grabbed the hilt in her pocket, her heart in her throat. Pulling it out, she stared at it, all of her will focused on that bony blade releasing again. Nothing happened. She looked around, searching for a savior from any direction. Emerging from the gathering darkness, she saw a cloud of dust rapidly approaching from the horizon, swirling around two beams of light.
Turning back to the fight, she noticed Jeremy’s limbs seemed heavier, his movements slower, but his menacing battle grin was still in place. The man in brown blocked an overhead attack with his blades, angling the sword to the side. Jeremy leaned into the new slant, his knee and elbow continuing the arc and striking his opponent, knocking him to the ground. As his sword came down to complete the movement, the stranger changed direction again, slicing Jeremy’s leg with his first kukri, quickly followed by the next curved blade finding his side and arm. Jeremy let out a savage growl, and turning back to his adversary, swung his sword in an upward angle with such speed and force that his opponent couldn’t completely skirt the attack. The masked man was wounded on the shoulder, the blade catching his head wrap. He pulled back on the cloth, and used his lowered position to strike Jeremy’s injured leg and bring him down as well.
“No!” Kayla’s hot blood coursed through her as she ran blindly forward, unsure if she wanted to attack this desert nomad, pull Jeremy out of the way, or test her luck as a buffer. As she approached the fray, the hilt she held vibrated intensely, and as she fell to her knees, the bone in her hands spewed up like a fountain, forming a shield above both her and Jeremy. Something struck their defense and she cried out, falling forward but not letting go. She could hear a pirate yell, “C’mon, get her now! It’s almost too late!” as the masked man growled at them, “Stay out of this fight!” and Kittie’s gun fired again. She felt Jeremy’s arm around her waist before she caught a glimpse of his eyes, strangely soft beneath his tight brow. That vague expression vanished as he turned his head away from her with a snarl and pressed up to run, limping, towards a mechanical sound that was suddenly so close.
He dropped her into the back of a dust-caked metal wagon, and called out to Kittie. She followed, both of them jumping into the remaining seats. The noisy machine had no roof, and all she could tell about the driver was that he was dressed much like Jeremy, but with a mop of blond hair, huge goggles, and fingerless gloves. Kayla looked back at her attackers, bathed in the lights of the vehicle. The stranger’s head wrap had come completely unraveled and fell to the ground. Before she could move, Jeremy leaned back over the seat to restrain her, and as the truck carried her away, all she could do was cry out Asher’s name.
4
Kayla kept her hands over her nose and mouth, and most of the time, her head down. She was wind-whipped, her face stung by sand, and even all her tears were not enough to wash the dust from her cheeks. The landscape was dark and bare around her, and once in a while she peeked out at her surroundings, but avoided looking at anyone else in the vehicle. Her teeth clenched angrily, unable to escape Kittie’s sad and concerned gaze as the little girl sat beside her. What right does she have to look at me that way? she thought, She’s just as bad as…him. Kayla’s shoulders heaved with a painful wave of silent weeping. She had tried to explain, begging for them to please let her stay with Asher — that’s who she’d been looking for — but Jeremy had just held her down, his face blank, as if he couldn’t hear. She shut her eyes, huddling into herself, avoiding the unbearab
le sight of the back of his head in front of her.
With her lids closed, she could allow the memory of Asher’s face to become clearer than her current reality. Much time had passed since the picture in her locket was taken, and she could see the weight of the years in his features, but it was unmistakably him; she didn’t need two glances to know for sure. His eyes were narrower, sharper, and there were new lines in his face, but none of these changes, not even his beard, could hide that he was Asher Serafin, the one she had longed to see, and was again torn from. If only she had known it was him, just a few moments earlier, she never would have protected Jeremy. She had to hope that somehow, he would come for her again. Pressing her despair down to a darker place, Kayla tried to hold on to what just earlier in the day had terrified her…it seemed that Asher could defeat Jeremy.
The truck began a sharp descent, dropping Kayla’s stomach lower and causing her to look up quickly. She saw before her a huge compound of buildings. There was the skeleton of a tower strewn with lights, shorter and broader buildings with more nondescript walls, and lattices of metal poles climbing in all directions. Dust of the dried-up seabed collected in dunes around the stronghold, and bright lanterns shone like low-hanging stars at the highest point of each grouping of buildings. The rare beauty of this place couldn’t smother the dread gathering in her chest as she sped closer to its gates.
Kayla was moved by an inexplicable desire to close her eyes and feign sleep. It seemed like a silly plan, almost as futile as playing dead in such a situation, but still she let her eyelids droop and somehow found it within her to relax her grief-racked muscles. After some time, she felt the vehicle stop and heard the driver’s door open.
Kittie’s voice followed. “She’s asleep. I tried to wake her, but I think she’s experiencing some shock. That’s understandable. So everything else can wait, at least for the night. I don’t think Lord Za’in would mind her staying with me until then.” She sounded matter-of-fact and careless, like someone accustomed to being humored.
“Hey, I’m just the wheels. He’s waiting for your report,” the driver replied before departing.
She could feel Kittie’s breath on her ear. “I’m sorry. But don’t open your eyes now just to spite us, okay? There are worse people than us in this place, so keep up your fainting spell!” There was a new sense of urgency in the child’s voice.
Kayla’s jaw clenched. She didn’t want to do anything either one of them suggested, but Kittie was right. As untrustworthy as the pair proved to be, she doubted they had brought her to a place where there was a better alternative. She tried to relax again, letting necessity rule her.
She heard Jeremy’s sigh become a quiet groan before she felt herself being lifted into his arms. Kayla stifled a sharp intake of breath, her limbs rigid, rejecting his touch. With Kittie’s words in mind, she swallowed the bitter lump of anger in her throat and breathed her muscles limp, but the hilt in her pocket was still restless and pulsating. She detected a twinge of tension in Jeremy’s body as he noticed her weapon’s agitation. Kayla searched for a deeper level of peace, focusing on softening her skin, hoping it would soothe the strange object she carried. She sensed it begin to settle, but its watchfulness remained.
Jeremy walked stiffly, but something about his movements made her feel as though his wounds weren’t what disturbed his normally relaxed gait. She could hear Kittie’s usual scampering by his side, but even her steps seemed heavier. Jeremy took a deep breath, and then stopped a moment to angle Kayla towards his torso, folding her arms to her chest and hiding the side of her face with her hair. His quiet voice sounded as if he barely moved his lips. “Stay turned against me. No one needs to get a good look at you.”
She was thankful for the freedom to tighten her face in confusion. Would anything ever make sense again? A few frustrated tears escaped her closed lids as she let her cheek rest heavily against Jeremy’s chest, breathing in the scent of blood, salt, and sand.
Kayla was carried through winding corridors and darkness, through places where she could see bright spots through her eyelids, and for brief stretches, smell the night air. Often she knew the three of them were alone, but there were also times she could hear the sound of men whispering. She caught only pieces of their surprised murmurings: “the Second Arch is back!” “Saros…?”
No one approached them or addressed them directly. They paused as a door opened, and Jeremy let out a measured sigh, his clenched muscles loosening. They only moved a few steps forward before she heard the door close behind them and she was gently released from his arms, onto a firm bed. Opening her eyes, she saw Jeremy standing over her. In the dim light, his face was divided in deep shadow and his blue irises were shrouded by a cloudy, gray screen. He turned to Kittie. “I gotta go make my report to Za’in. You don’t have to go, Kit. I’ll sort it all out.”
Kittie was staring off, her head turned. “Go,” she said softly, “but come back right after. I think it’ll take me to convince him to leave her alone tonight.”
“I don’t know how I let a Malak push me around.” He let out a half-hearted chuckle before he left, closing the door quietly behind him.
The little girl remained still, and in the silence that followed, Kayla sat up and looked around the small room. The walls were pale, rough and unfinished. The door was simply fashioned from a dull metal, and the only window was a tall, narrow slit in the wall. There was no evidence that the room belonged to Kittie, or to anyone else for that matter; the place was devoid of any decoration or keepsake, housing only a cot, chair, and hanging light bulb.
Kayla refused to meet Kittie’s gaze as she turned around and moved slowly to sit beside her on the bed. “I’m sorry things are this way,” the small girl said softly.
Kayla clenched her fists. “Things aren’t just ‘this way!’ You both lied to me…kidnapped me! You both knew what you were doing. And I…I know this place is…evil.” She stopped. She didn’t mean to say that last part. She didn’t know why, but it frightened her to speak it out loud.
“Kayla, don’t you know the whole world is in trouble? Don’t you know that we all just do what we can to get by? It’s not so easy to just go out there alone. Jeremy is my Arch. I had to follow…”
“Your…Arch?”
A genuine smile returned to Kittie’s face, and it was strangely comforting to see it again. “Yeah! In the Second Sphere, he’s the head guy! Sure, Za’in is our lord, but I’m in Jeremy’s company and get to follow him everywhere.” She stopped for a second, her mouth becoming small when she noticed Kayla’s confusion. “Okay. So Za’in runs the show. He has us all organized into Three Spheres, with an Arch leading each one. Below the Arch is an Ophan, and then the rest are like me — just another soldier, a Malak. I know, it sounds weird, but Za’in sort of wanted his own twist on Angelic Hierarchy…he’s obsessed with that stuff.”
Kayla’s brows drew close together. She had heard of Angels before, but these terms weren’t familiar. “But…what is he organizing?”
“The world.” Kittie didn’t sound convinced. “He has plans. And you’re a part of that. He’s been looking for you.”
“Why?”
“You may possess a…spiritual power…that he desires.”
Kayla just stared at her. Beneath her feelings of helplessness, she knew there was at least some power in that strange bone in her pocket, but she kept silent.
Kittie’s eyes were pleading, and her voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m sorry you got brought into this. I just wanted to stay with Jeremy and do what he wanted. That’s how it’s been for so long. Just, until it can be set right, don’t give in to Za’in, okay? I’ll set things right.”
Kayla dropped down heavily onto her stomach, her face buried in the pillow. She was so confused. What could she trust? She just wanted to sleep, in the hopeless fantasy that everything would be different in the morning. She was done running from exhaustion, and let it take her.
She was only allowed a brief release. A new pr
esence in the room disturbed her sleep, causing her to roll over quickly. Jeremy was sitting on the floor, wearily leaning against the wall. She noticed he hadn’t washed or changed his clothes, his wounds still in the haphazard dressings he applied during the ride to this stronghold.
“You can go back to sleep,” he murmured, his head tilted back, eyes closed. “Right now, Kit is ensuring your opportunity to do that. Don’t worry, she’ll be back soon, and I’ll be gone when you wake up.”
Kayla didn’t move. “You knew that was Asher Serafin on the shore today. You fought him to keep us apart.”
Jeremy’s eyelids parted slightly. “I wasn’t completely sure it was him.”
Her hands balled into fists beneath the pillow. She didn’t want to argue about what he did, she just wanted to know why. “So what happens to me now?”
He was silent.
“Za’in…” she said slowly, “he’s going to hurt me, isn’t he?”
Jeremy lifted his head and looked at her. “Just do what he wants.”
She remembered that Kittie just gave her opposite advice. “And what does he want with me?”
“What does he want with any of us? We might never really figure it out. And, anyways, it’s what you asked for. You said you could take it.”
Kayla quickly rolled onto her back and turned her head so he couldn’t see her eyes. “You’re not the only one who can lie.” She swallowed a few times before speaking again. “So how do Angels fit into all this?”
“It’s just a metaphor meant to intimidate. Divine order and assured punishment to those that oppose it. Pretty effective psychological warfare, right?”
“But could it be real? Kittie said something about ‘spiritual power.’ I think he wants that bone I carry.”
Jeremy laughed. “Oh, you’re one of the Nephilim now, huh?”
Kayla’s throat tightened and she sat up suddenly. “Stop saying things that don’t make sense!” she cried, her voice hoarse. “I can’t stand it! Maybe I am whatever you just said — that’s why he sent you to capture me, and now he’s gonna kill me—”
Dominion of the Star (Descendants of the Fallen Book 1) Page 3