Michael caught his breath and stood tall, “Her name is—”
“Asandra,” Aveena cut him off.
Michael’s eyebrows raised high at Aveena in question, but her facial expression never changed. She didn’t want Clay knowing who she was, and it was obvious to him why. Being the Princess in these parts of the city was all too dangerous for her.
“Yeah, this is Asandra,” Michael reassured Clay.
“Well,” Clay reached his hand out to Aveena, “nice to meet you Asandra.”
Aveena looked down at Clay’s hand, snorted, and then walked towards the tunnel that created a hole in the ground.
“Well,” Clay pulled his hand away with puckered lips.
Michael and Clay both watched her walk away, then when Michael saw where she was headed, he jogged over to her.
“Wait! A-Asandra,” Michael grabbed her shoulder.
Aveena whirled around to face him, but then when her eyes met his, her expression softened and she took a deep breath. “What is it?”
“You shouldn’t go down there. That tunnel only goes in one direction.”
Aveena shrugged, “I know where it leads.” She looked down into the blackness. The Zext quarter was even lower than the Ponz. Getting out of there would be like trying to climb out of a ditch.
“So, why are you going down there? You won’t be able to come back out,” Michael asked.
“What? Nonsense, I visit there all the time.” Aveena looked into Michael’s eyes. “Why do you care anyways? You don’t even...you don’t even know me.”
Clay walked up to the two, “I say, why don’t you let the man get to know you?”
“No one cares what you say,” Aveena retorted.
“I do,” Clay raised both hands and smiled. Aveena stared at him for a moment and then cracked a smile.
“So, why are you going down there?” Michael asked again.
Aveena clenched her teeth and pulled a small pouch out of her cloak, “To bring them something to eat. Just the ones that I can get to. Some of them don’t eat for days.”
Michael nodded, “Well, that’s kind of you.”
“Yeah, it was kind of you to save me back there. Thanks,” she smiled over at Clay. “You too.”
“You’re so very welcome,” Clay bowed.
Michael glared at him and then turned back to Aveena. “Let me come down there with you. It’s dangerous, and I heard it’s impossible for people to get back out.”
“It is,” Aveena frowned. “The people that get sent there don’t want to come back after a while, and those who want to leave are too crazed to find their way out.”
“What do you mean?” Clay asked.
“Come, I’ll show you,” Aveena faced the tunnel. “I’ll see you two at the bottom.”
“As—”
Aveena dropped down the tunnel and disappeared into the dark.
“She’s crazy,” Clay stated. “You’re not really thinking about following her down there?”
Michael sighed with a shrug, “Can’t leave the lady to go on her own.” He walked over to the drop of the tunnel and stared into it.
Clay stepped next to him, “Can’t let you to go down on your own.” He shook his head.
Michael smiled, “To partnership.”
Clay pointed his finger at Michael, “Screw your partnership.”
Michael chuckled, “See you at the bottom.” He dropped down into the tunnel.
The tunnel went on a lot longer than the ones he was used to riding. He slid from left to right, and then felt as if he were slowing down, like somehow the slide was no longer a slide. When he came to a stop, the only thing he could see was Aveena’s white eyes. Clay slid to a stop and stood up as well.
“Something is seriously wrong with her eyes,” Clay noted.
“I can hear you,” Aveena said.
“I know,” Clay chuckled. “So, lead us out of here.”
Aveena huffed before turning around and walking away. Now all Michael had was the sound of her footsteps to lead the way.
It didn’t feel like they were inside of a tunnel anymore, but more so underground, surrounded by a lot of open space. They had to be, because Michael could feel a draft and see nothing but blackness everywhere. The tunnels were humid, and had specs of light shining through the cracks.
Clay reached down to grab Michael’s hand, and Michael snatched his hand away.
“I can’t see,” Clay complained.
“Me neither, but don’t touch my hands,” Michael whispered.
Clay smacked his teeth and continued to walk through the darkness. It wasn’t until they saw moonlight shining in from a hole above that he started to feel relieved. He could finally see Aveena step into the moonlight and then start clawing her way up a hill of rocks and rubble that led to the opening in the ceiling.
Michael watched as Aveena climbed the hill with ease, and then stepped onto the pile of rocks himself. He didn’t understand how she could get up there so easily with the rocks constantly sliding under her feet. Soon enough she was at the top of the hill and then pulled herself up through hole.
Michael and Clay followed behind her.
“You must do this a lo—”
“Shhh,” Aveena shushed Clay.
Michael and Clay looked around to realize that they were in the basement of a small building. They followed Aveena up the creaky stairs where they were surrounded by more moonlight. The building that they stood in had busted windows, flipped furniture, and was covered in dust.
“Try to stay very quiet. The people here attack others on sight sometimes,” Aveena cautioned.
“Why?” Michael asked. Now he was really curious. The Zext Quarter was rumored to be a slave quarter, but now he wondered. There was something worse that was going on here, that was for sure.
“This way,” Aveena said, ignoring the question.
They followed Aveena out of the building to see that there were a ton of buildings that looked as if they were ruins. The streets were filled with trash, and it was completely dark out, as if the people here had no electricity or a means to create a fire.
Aveena walked down the road with her head lowered, and Michael and Clay followed by her example. They walked for a few minutes when they saw a man heading in their direction. His face was deathly pale and sunken in, and he was dressed in rags. That was not what threw them off though. It was the vacant expression on his face as if nothing was going on in his head, and the burned circle on his forehead with the letter Z in the middle.
Michael watched as the man walked passed him, then turned back around.
Aveena led them into a building and walked straight down the back hallway. There, in the very back, Michael could see a candle lit, and then soon a little girl sitting next to it on the floor.
“Drea?” Aveena called.
The little girl’s face lit up when she saw Aveena walk in, and she jumped to her feet. She also had the Z brand burned onto her forehead. Michael was sure that if Aveena wanted to help people escape then she would, but these people would never survive out there with that brand in plain sight.
“You hungry?” Aveena asked.
“Yes, yes, yes,” the little girl cheered.
Clay frowned, “Why was a child sent here?”
Aveena pulled out her pouch and handed it to the girl. “Whole families get sent here.”
The little girl began to chomp down on the bread inside the bag.
“Once they get here, they don’t last so long before they are turned,” Aveena sighed.
“Turned?” Michael asked.
Aveena nodded to where the Drea was sitting. Michael turned his head to see a woman sitting up against the wall behind her, most likely the girl’s mother, with the same vacant expression as the man from earlier.
“The people in the Zext Quarter are turned with some sort of poison Lavier has made. I don’t know what it is exactly, but he has these people drugged, and after a while, they like it. You ever hear people call
this the slave quarter?”
Michael nodded.
“Yeah? Well, it really is. The people here work all day on the other side of the quarter. They are building more buildings so that there are more places to sleep for the new comers. At the end of the day they get their regimen of Z-qoin, and end up like that.” She was referring to the little girl’s mother. “Lavier uses this drug to control people. First they are arrested, then branded, then drugged. After a few nights, they send the people out here to the Zext Quarter. People starve out here, and become so addicted to the poison that they forget that they were hungry. Some people completely forget their old lives and only work for the Z-qoin. After a while, they just die.”
“What about this girl?” Michael asked.
“They don’t give kids dosages here. They just send them here with their families and wait for them to starve to death. Food isn’t distributed here unless a Knight brings them some. Half the time the people here don’t even care.”
Drea looked up with a mouth full of bread, “I care.”
Aveena gave a sad smile and leaned in to kiss the girl on her forehead. “I’m glad.” She turned to the others, “Let’s go.”
Clay frowned, “We’re really not just going to leave this kid here are we? She barely looks six years old!”
Aveena sighed, “If she is caught out there, the Knights will kill her. No one is supposed to know that people can escape from the Zext Quarter. They don’t even know about the poison. Lavier ordered the Knights to kill anyone outside the quarter with that brand, on sight, so yes, we are going to leave her here.”
“We can cover her forehead?” Michael suggested.
“I thought of that already. If she takes that off, or if it falls off, she’s dead. I won’t take that risk again,” Aveena walked out of the building.
Michael and Clay didn’t say anything further and followed Aveena back to the tunnels. Once they were surrounded by darkness they climbed back up towards the Ponz Quarter. Surprisingly, this tunnel wasn’t so hard to walk up, but they stopped somewhere in the middle. There was another pathway that rounded the corner.
“Well, this is where we split,” Aveena said. Her white eyes were the only things the two boys could see. “You two will keep climbing up this tunnel to get out, I’ll be heading my own way home.
Michael could hear Aveena turning around when he reached for her arm.
“Wait. When will I see you again?” Michael asked.
Aveena could see Michael clearly, even though he could barely see her. She wanted to see him again, but their acquaintance was too dangerous for him. She didn’t want to even think about what would happen if Lavier knew of his existence.
“Don’t know,” she said sadly. “Hopefully never again. You two held me back.” She stepped away.
Michael frowned. He could tell that she was lying.
“I have to go,” Aveena turned around and walked down the separate tunnel.
Clay chuckled, “Tough time with the women, huh?”
“Quiet,” Michael huffed, continuing up the tunnel.
Chapter 7
A few days had passed since their run in with Aveena. At least, Michael knew that she was Aveena and not some girl named Asandra. He didn’t like keeping secrets from Clay, or the others for that matter, but he felt a strong need to protect her. The only thing he didn’t hide was what they saw in the Zext Quarter.
Clay and Michael agreed to tell Tayen and Joctus what they saw there and left it up to them to decide what to do with that information. The leaders chose to keep the horrors of the Zext Quarter away from the rest of the organization for now. Some of them had family trapped down there, and if they knew that they could save them, they would jump to do so without a plan.
Tayen and Joctus wanted to be smart about what to do with their new information, and would eventually come up with a plan to free the Zext citizens, but for now, they had another plan that involved getting into the Palace. Only the best fighters would be sent out to do the job. Killing the Princess wasn’t going to be an easy task.
Tayen called only a handful of the organization into the basement for a meeting. It was only those that were the fastest at getting in and out of places which consisted of Michael, Clay, Ty’ere, Lennie, Yasmine, and her twin brother Blanko.
The twins were the first to join the organization and had helped with putting it together. Michael was used to running with Yasmine being the leader of his squad, but tonight it would be both Yasmine and Blanko that he had to follow. They were the only two that could play the role of the squad leader together.
“Tonight most of the high ranking Knights will be attending the ball, so that only leaves the unexperienced ones,” Yasmine started. “You guys should have no trouble getting through them. Ty’ere will be our eyes when we air board over the walls. This will be your first time going to the Gem Quarter, so you guys have to be on alert. There’s high security around that area.”
Michael looked Yasmine up and down. He knew just by looking at her that she was incredibly strong, mentally and physically. She was a lot like Tayen when it came to being cold when she had to be, but kind for most of the time. They even wore the same gear. It was just her bright blue eyes and dirty-blond hair that she kept pulled back, that distinguished the two. She also had a scar that stretched from her forehead all the way down to her chin, but that didn’t take away any beauty from her features.
Yasmine’s twin on the other hand, wasn’t so good looking. He would’ve been if his face wasn’t stuck into a permanent frown, but he never let up. Blanko stood under the light with his arms folded and face frowning. His blonde hair was cut so short to his head that they could see through to his scalp, and his eyes were a bright green like Tayen’s.
Tayen stepped in, “This is going to be a quick kill. You guys get in, and then get out.”
Michael frowned and looked down at his boots. His stomach turned at the thought of killing Aveena, but he couldn’t go against Tayen’s orders. The organization wasn’t the type to take innocent lives, but they couldn’t risk Aveena being supportive of her uncle. If she came into her powers and decided to take Lavier’s side then the royals would be undefeatable. If that happened...nothing would ever change.
“Michael, is everything alright?” Tayen asked.
Michael snapped his chin up and looked into Tayen’s knowing eyes. She was a very perceptive woman with a gift for reading people. Some even wondered if she also gained a gift from Ralu, but it was told that he only gifted the next King or Queen of Raluza.
Tayen gave a slight smile to try and lighten the weight on Michael’s shoulders. She could tell that he was having second thoughts about the mission, and thought that she should pull him back, but then he gave her a look that told her he was with them all the way.
Michael clenched his teeth and nodded his head. He was ready. If it meant saving the Kingdom, then he would fight the twisting pain in his chest to complete the mission. It was for Raluza, the world that he wanted to bring his family to, and the world his father went looking for, only to never return.
“Alright,” Joctus faced the group of fighters. “I better see every one of your faces when the mission is complete.”
Yasmine chuckled and slapped her hand down on Joctus’ shoulder, “You know I’ll take good care of them.”
“Yeah dad, you don’t have to worry,” Lennie added.
Joctus took a deep breath. He didn’t like the fact that all of the fastest in the organization were also the youngest, and his dear loved ones.
Blanko walked over to the stairs and started walking up to the bar. “Let’s get this over with.”
Michael and Tayen stared at each other for another moment, and then he turned to follow the others. They were going to get into the Palace, kill the Princess, and then come home. They were going to save Raluza.
~*~
The night was quiet in the Ruq Quarter. There was a curfew for the Ruq and Ponz people, but it was stricter as they got clo
ser to the Zyla Quarter. They took the alleyways to try and avoid any Knights, and then broke through the unguarded gate that separated the Ruq and the Ponz Quarters.
It took no time to reach the Zyla wall. They stood on top of one of the buildings and examined the length that they would have to travel to get over it. It wasn’t as high as the outer walls that towered over the city, but it was tall enough for someone to spot them flying over it.
“Ty’ere, you’re up. You’re our quickest scanner,” Yasmine said encouragingly.
Ty’ere nodded and licked his lips. He hopped on his air board with his gun in hand and flew up to the top of the wall. Lennie and Clay were looking out for anyone that may have noticed him on their side of the wall.
Ty’ere gave a quick whistle that sounded like one of the night birds chirping, and that was all the reassurance that they needed to jump on their air boards and zoom over the wall in a single-file line.
They didn’t take any time to double check if the coast was clear. If Ty’ere said that there was no one out, then that meant that there was no one out. Not in this area at least. They dropped down towards the grassy plain and stopped right above the ground. None of them were getting off of their boards any time soon.
“It always smells so fresh here,” Clay took in a deep breath of air.
Michael looked around. He had seen the Zyla Quarter many times since joining the organization, and it always reminded him of home. There were no buildings stacked together like the poor quarters. Only well-built log cabins, gardens, large plains of green grass, tall trees, and cobblestone pathways for the people to walk on.
Each cabin had a significant amount of space between each other, as they were lined up in rows. Michael was jealous of all of the space that the Zyla people had, but that feeling was replaced with fear as they neared the wall surrounding the Gem Quarter.
It was safe to say that there really were no Knights out tonight. The ball usually always called for the best Knights, which made the organization’s trips a hell of a lot easier.
There wasn’t much distance between the Zyla and Gem Quarter. They stopped at the wall and waited for Ty’ere to fly to the top. Once he was up there though, his head slowly turned from the left, and snapped to the right.
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