Djerr stared at her for a moment, taking in what she had said. “But you're a Wizard's soldier yourself,” he pointed out.
“So?” She looked at him blankly.
“Well, they're not going to torture one of their own, are they?”
She laughed, lying down next to him. “Of course they are. I'm expendable. You're the one that matters.”
He tugged at a strand of his tangled hair and looked distressed. “Please don't say that, Tara.”
Curling into a ball, she turned away from him. “Well, there's nothing we can do now, anyway. Just go to sleep.” He was silent and after several moments, she could hear him breathing deeply. Tucking an arm under her head, she lay shivering on the cold stone floor and tried to fall asleep.
What seemed like only moments after she had finally drifted off, the door suddenly slammed open again. She looked over blearily as the two men burst into the room and stepped over to where she lay. Against Djerr's shouted protests, they hauled her to her feet and dragged her out of the room to the one down the hallway. They didn't even bother to tie her hands together this time, but each had a deathly tight grip on one wrist.
Shoved to the ground in the other room, she fell hard on her knees before she could bring her hands in front of her to catch herself. Scowling, she stood back up and started to turn toward the men. “Okay, well let's get this over wi-” The breath was knocked out of her as one of them punched her in the chest. She found herself flat on the ground, seemingly paralyzed. All was silent, except for her heartbeat in her ears, sounding unnaturally fast. Staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, she tried to catch her breath and heard the men talking, their voices echoing dimly in her ears.
“Well, don't kill her!”
“She's fine, see?”
As her heartbeat finally began to slow, she started coughing and tried to roll onto her side, just as the other man kicked her in the side of the face. Her vision dimmed, then was flooded with bright lights zig-zagging across the room. The man kicked her again with a grunt and she felt nauseous, her limbs wobbly as she tried to get away from the attackers.
The beating felt a dozen times more brutal than the previous and when they finally stopped, her body was completely numb. Nothing in her body hurt or ached, but when they pulled her to her feet, her legs wouldn't support her own weight. Dizzy, she instantly collapsed back to the ground with a moan.
Only semi-conscious, she noticed the hallway passing by again and figured someone must be carrying her. When she blinked again, she saw part of Djerr's face. Wondering if one of her eyes had already swollen shut, she slowly reached a hand up to touch it and winced as she accidentally poked it. It was wide open, but she could see nothing through it.
Turning her head, so she could see all of Djerr, she noticed he was speaking, but the ringing in her head was too loud for her to hear. Shaking her head slightly, she closed her eyes as her entire body began to throb and ache. It grew to a piercing pain in her side and she was forced to only take shallow breaths.
When she opened her eyes again, she realized time had passed, although her body still hurt just as much, if not more. She didn't immediately see Djerr, but as she took account of each part of her body, she felt something touching her hand, which lay sprawled out of sight of her one good eye.
Rolling her head to the side, she saw Djerr lying on his back, apparently asleep with his hand resting on top of her own. Pulling her hand away, she attempted to sit up and shuddered at the sharp pain in her side, which only made it hurt more. She bit her lip and she tried not to cry out as she relaxed back on the hard ground.
“Tara?” She heard Djerr shuffle and she glanced back over at him. He was propped up on one arm, looking worriedly over at her.
“Uh?” she choked, her tongue feeling sticky in her dry mouth.
“Are-are you alright?”
She managed a slight shrug. Noticing a chunk of bread and the dirty canteen of water sitting by the door, she motioned toward it with her head.
Oh!” Djerr sprang up and grabbed the water, hurrying back over to her. He slowly poured a small trickle into her mouth and she swallowed, washing away much of the sticky, salty taste.
“I've been better,” she croaked wryly. “How long have I been asleep?”
Djerr shrugged and sat down next to her. “It must've been a pretty long time, but I don't know. It’s hard to keep track of time in here.” He paused. “Tarana, what are we going to do?”
“Don't ask me. I don't think there's anything we can do.”
He looked away from her. “Look, I know you're going to hate me for even asking you this, but could you please please show them your magic before they kill you. You can make it look like I did it, I don't care. I just don't want you to die.”
Tarana immediately started shaking her head before Djerr finished. “No. You know I'm not willing to do that. I swore a long time ago I wasn't going to use my curse ever again and I was forced to use it that one last time to save your life, but that's it. It will only bring pain and sadness.”
“No, it won't. Not necessarily.” It was the first time she had heard him sound so frustrated, almost angry. “Why are you willing to save my life, but not your own? Are you really worth that little to yourself that you won't take a single risk to save yourself? It's not a curse, Tarana. I can't make you see that, but it's a gift. You can use it in any way you want. It certainly hasn't brought me pain or sadness, it brought me life and hope. It could bring everybody life and hope, if you would only try.”
“Shut up, Djerr,” Tarana growled, turning her head away from him.
“Please, Tara, just do this one thing for me. Just get us out of here.”
“I already told you, I don't know how.” Her dirty, tangled hair had fallen across her face, in her eyes, and she tried to shake it away with as little movement as possible. “Just leave me alone.”
They sat in silence for a long time, interrupted only when Djerr asked her if she was thirsty, but she didn't answer. She drifted in and out of consciousness until she was startled awake by the sound of the door opening. The same two men filed into the room and carefully shut the door behind them. Her body tensed in apprehension, Tarana peered over at them, but they didn't immediately move toward her. Instead, they turned their attention to Djerr, who was sitting in the far corner, his knees pulled up to his chest, looking miserable.
“Well, to be honest, we didn't think it would come to this.” The taller man stepped forward, his arms behind his back. His hair was slicked back into a tight, greasy ponytail. His sleeveless shirt showed off his thick shoulders and arms. “Either you two are not as good of friends as we were led to believe or you are one heartless bastard of a kid.”
Djerr said nothing, but he stood slowly and Tarana noticed his fists were tightly clenched. The other man sauntered toward him with a piece of rope in his hands. As Djerr lunged forward, swinging at him, the man easily dodged the blow and caught his wrist. He twisted it forcefully, causing Djerr to gasp in pain and spin around against his will. Catching his other wrist, the man quickly tied his hands together with the rope and kicked Djerr's knees outward so that he tumbled to the ground. He scooted backwards until his back rested against the wall again and looked away, glaring.
“That's a good boy,” the first man said, chuckling. “Now you just stay there and watch while we deal with your little girlfriend. Don't be afraid to rescue her, but I think you'll find that physical means will prove rather ineffective. My buddy here is going to keep a close eye on you.” The other man smirked at him, then turned his attention back to Djerr as the first man walked over to Tarana and grabbed the front of her shirt. He grimaced. “This...might hurt,” he said without a glimmer of remorse.
Her entire body felt as if it was being ripped apart as he hauled her upward and slammed her against the wall. Vision dimming, she desperately hoped she would pass out, but it didn't happen. Flooded with nausea, she gasped for air and realized she had been screaming. Her legs unable to supp
ort her body, the only thing holding her up was the man's grip, but he seemed to have no problem using only one hand.
He grasped her hand and she felt his rough calluses scraping against her skin. Only using a couple fingers, he bent her little finger back further and further and even as her entire body throbbed and pierced with anguish, she became acutely aware of the strain in her finger as he pushed it backwards. The strain quickly became painful and she threw her head backward against the wall, eyes squeezed shut. Hearing a crack, she felt the finger snap and her eyes filled with tears. Eyes still shut, she thought of Roxanne’s lesson on pain and focused on her ragged breaths and forced them to become smoother and longer.
With each breath, she channeled all her pain and discomfort into a stream up the core of her body, up into her head, and out her eyes. Each hot tear that ran down her face was full of suffering and as she focused on channeling it out, the pain became tolerable. She opened her eyes and looked over at Djerr, smiling slightly. She was going to make it.
Then, she felt a hand on her stomach. Her concentration broke as her focus snapped back toward the man. His hand ruffled the edge of her shirt, touching her bare skin as he reached upward. She froze, his hand feeling cold, rough, and wrong against her. Slumped against the wall, she had nowhere to move and his other hand still gripped her in place.
He ran his hand around to her back and pulled her close against him, close enough to smell his shirt, damp with perspiration. She struggled against his chest and managed to turn her head back toward Djerr. His mouth was moving and although she couldn't hear him over the silence of her body's panic, she knew what he was saying.
“It's time to leave,” she whispered.
Tensing every broken muscle in her body, indescribable pain exploded through her and she could feel her heartbeat quicken. Her ears were ringing louder than any noise she had experienced, but she only tensed her body more. She welcomed the suffering and piled it up as she felt herself growing lighter and less substantial. Reaching out to Djerr with intangible arms, she swept him up with her as the room faded into a white glow and she felt the man's arms pass through her.
Surrounded in a blanket of light, she couldn't see Djerr, but she could feel him near. Focusing, she saw that the light was made up of tiny particles bouncing off her as she drifted past. A few of the tiny balls of light clung to her skin and she felt them start to soak in. When one finally passed through her skin, she felt it speed up as it began bouncing around inside her, ricocheting off her broken bones and bruised organs.
It tickled slightly as it flitted through her and was soon joined by several more particles. After the tickling subsided, she felt a warmth in the areas that had previously been a stabbing pain. The particles rose higher in her body, moving faster as her body narrowed. As they began to reach her face, they condensed in her blind eye. Her sight returned with a burst of sparkling light and the particles exploding outward, speeding away.
She felt herself gradually slowing down as the light dimmed. As she came to a stop, the glow faded into black. She felt the ground beneath her feet and realized she was standing, but could see nothing. Blinking several times in succession, she finally began to make out the dreary landscape around her. Turning around, she saw a familiar, dimly lit city. Still feeling unnaturally warm, she collapsed onto the cold ground, much less muddy than when she had left it. Above her, she saw the sky was packed with stars, shining brighter still because there was no moon.
“Tara?” she heard Djerr ask tentatively nearby.
“Djerr, are you okay?” She looked in the direction the voice had come from, barely able to make out his shape.
“I'm fine, but you-?”
“Don't worry, I'm fine,” she interrupted quickly. “I think we're in the valley outside Ralinos, but we'd better get moving. They might have figured out who exactly got us out of there and they might be looking for us.”
Djerr didn't immediately make a move. “But Tara, that man, he...”
“I don't want to talk about it,” she said, climbing to her feet. “I did what I had to do.”
“But I thought you said you didn't know how to control your magic!” Djerr said accusingly.
Tarana sighed. “Whatever I control, it's not magic, Djerr. I wish you'd stop calling it that. And I didn't know how to do that, but I had to try something and once I started, it just sort of made sense what to do. Anyway, we should get going. I don’t wanna get caught by those guys again.”
Djerr looked at her helplessly. “But where are we going to go?”
She started walking toward the end of the valley, away from the city. “I don't know. Anywhere but here.”
Chapter 11
Occasionally stumbling over the uneven ground, Djerr and Tarana slowly progressed through the valley. With every step, she felt the exhaustion pulling at her body, urging her to rest, but she forced herself to keep walking. Most of the fallen bodies had been rescued from the cold battlefield, although they still occasionally stumbled across the odd limb or body hidden in a dip of the ground.
After what seemed like days, she noticed with a start that she could distinguish the sky from the ground. It had begun to lighten, and although the sky was still a very dark blue and the stars shone brightly, she could make out the forest at the end of the valley, still some distance away. They didn't speak, but put all their energy in dragging themselves away from the city as quickly as they could.
By the time they finally reached the first scattered trees of the forest, the sky had lightened considerably and the stars had almost completely faded away. Barely able to stay upright or keep her eyes open, Tarana froze when she thought she heard something move in front of her. Squinting through the darkness, she motioned at Djerr to stop and listened carefully, slowly swiveling her head as she peered into the shadows.
It reminded her of the day long ago when Kalib had taught her to listen carefully to the sounds of the forest, shutting out the distraction of sight. Closing her eyes, she heard something rustle again, moving tentatively through the forest. It sounded too heavy, too purposeful to be any animal accustomed to living amongst the trees. Realizing too late that she had no weapons on her and no way to defend herself, she opened her eyes and considered her options.
“H-hello?” a young man's voice called. “Is somebody there? Are you with the Citizens' Army?”
Feeling almost like laughing with relief, Tarana sighed. “Yeah, there are two of us. We went to use the bathroom and lost our way in the dark. Which way is back to camp?”
The man slowly felt his way toward them. “Man, you guys scared me. I hate this guard duty thing. I'm so tired I think I'll fall asleep if I sit down.” He yawned widely. “Sorry. Camp's just a little bit farther in.” He gestured and yawned again, this time longer than the last. “See you later.” He shuffled away from them, cursing when a branch swiped his face.
“Guess we'd better go around,” Djerr said quietly.
Tarana shook her head. “Let's just go through. It'll take forever to go around.”
He frowned. “It won't take that long. People know me here, Tara. What if we see Kirian or someone?” But she had already started walking further into the forest, in the direction the man had pointed. Lagging behind slightly, he grimaced as he walked into a spider web laced with dew. “That's your plan, isn't it? You want to see Kirian again, don't you?”
“Djerr, how could I possibly manage to find Kirian in a huge mob of sleeping people, most of which I have never seen in my life? If he's even still here at all, it would take far too long for me to find him.” She looked at him pointedly. “Unless, of course, I had some help. Preferably someone who could recognize some of the people he'd be with.”
With a sigh, Djerr began to walk slightly faster. “Then we'd better hurry. It'll be easier to do this when everyone's staying still.”
The two swept through the vast encampment, led by Djerr. Slipping between sleeping bodies and hopping over the dying campfires, they gave each face a bri
ef glance before they moved on. Occasionally, Djerr would slow slightly as he studied a face he thought he recognized, and they would split up, hoping to find Kirian still with his group.
The sky continued to lighten, visible through the gaps in the trees above and they were able to move faster as the shadows receded and the faces grew easier to see. Still, they continued searching until the first rays of sunlight darted through the forest and flickered across their bodies as they moved. Although the camp was large and sprawled through the forest floor in all directions, it was smaller than Tarana had expected. Beginning to grow worried that Kirian had been killed in the battle after all, her heart leapt every time Djerr thought he recognized a soldier. After another false call, he turned to her and shrugged.
“I dunno, Tara.” he whispered. “Kirian could still be here somewhere. I haven't seen anyone that I recognize for sure, but it'd take ages to search everyone. Is this really important to you? I mean, we should probably keep moving, or at least find somewhere to rest for awhile.”
She looked around helplessly. “I...” she paused, trying to think, but her mind felt slow and heavy with the need to sleep. “Why don't we just rest here? Just for awhile. No one knows we're not a part of them and if it's so hard for us to find someone, it'll be pretty hard for anyone to find us here, either. Right?”
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