The Azureans
Page 16
“No master.” Buen did not look away. He would be brave in this, his last act.
“He and his za’an were seen fleeing into the Eastern Mountains,” Wynn spit the words at Buen; the little darts of spittle stung his face. “Karu nearly killed Goluken.”
Buen smiled. He got away! Karu, that crazy idiot. He even took his za’an with him—he shouldn’t have done that, but still, it had worked. The plan had worked.
Wynn slapped him, and the pain started. Buen’s face melted off his skull. His frame crumpled onto the ground, and he yelled in agony.
The pain only intensified as Buen writhed on the ground, yet in his last moments, the guilt that had pressed on Buen for so long lifted. Surprisingly, as his body crumpled and melted, Buen felt, for the first time in years, free.
17 Introduction
Lydia
After escaping the tragedy at the gate, we follow the map down the mountain to the cave, not risking even a short stop at Watch.
We make good time, considering the danger of traversing the mountains with so much ice. It’s a beautiful time of year—the mountains are just starting to green, the buds opening on the trees, and the grasses poking through the snow.
Still, despite the beauty of the scenery, we carry a weight and an urgency as we travel. Turina’s betrayal was a harsh reminder that Arujan is in control of everything up here. He has Watch, we were nearly killed by his spy from Keeper, and the entire Northern kingdom is basically destroyed. As soon as the mountains are safe for travel, everything will collapse. The people will all leave, the barrier will fail, and Wynn will have free reign up here.
I don’t know how to stop it.
I may learn something at the cave, but I might not. I can heal and hurt people, and I can do it from a distance. But, I can’t do anything else. I don’t know how Dee defeated armies. How am I supposed to fight Wynn, if he exists, when he has supposedly been around for centuries?
Still I press on. I’m here because I’m the only one who can save this world. Call me crazy or narcissistic, but somehow, I believe it.
“You aren’t looking happy,” Dynd says.
“Why should I be?”
“Lydia,” Ler joins the conversation from behind us. He has been quiet, too, which means he’s probably felt the gloom—even though he’s tried hard to hide it. “We’re going to the last station. We’re about to defeat Wynn.”
“It’s too late to defeat Wynn,” Dynd says. “We have to defeat Arujan; we’re about to be surrounded by civil war.”
“We have the Blue Princess on our side, we’ll figure this out.”
I shake my head and glare at Ler. “You’re talking about me, remember? I’m the one who got Karl killed. And Cadah.”
“You can’t blame yourself. Karu made his own choices.”
“And I didn’t stop him.” Saying it out loud feels good after having it rattle around my head for months. “I was responsible. I needed to protect him—he couldn’t understand what was going on.” I look back at the trail so Ler won’t see my tears. “He died as helpless as anyone could ever be.”
“You might not be much, but you’re the only hope we’ve got,” Dynd mutters. If he means it to be funny, it’s not.
“Hey!” Ler puts an arm around each of us. “We’re going to make it through this.”
His arm feels warm and reassuring—happy even, but the happiness makes me angry. I shrug him off, and fortunately, the happy feeling slides away with it.
“How can you say that? Cadah was killed. Have you forgotten that?”
“I will never forget,” he says softly. “But I can’t let it stop me from pushing forward. It wouldn’t be what she would want.”
What she would want? Did she want to die, Ler? Is that what she wanted? To leave you here all alone. What about me? Did I want Karl to die? To get himself murdered by a bunch of men he couldn’t understand.
No. That is not what I wanted. That isn’t what Karl wanted.
What I want is to go home, back to when Mom was still alive. I want to forget this place exists. I want to forget the time I spent here, and how much I’ve learned to love it. I want to forget how much I love Mara and her son and twins. How much I miss Karl, even though he was such a jerk.
But that’s impossible, so I won’t leave and I won’t stop fighting. I have to stay and fight Arujan. I have to help Mara deliver those twins. If Wynn is real and powerful, I’ll probably see everyone I love die. It will tear me apart, just like Karl hurts me every time I think of him.
Just like I hurt every time I think of Mom.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” I say. “How much longer to the cave?”
Ler smiles. “Just under an hour.”
His cheerful attitude seriously gets on my nerves.
✽✽✽
As we reach the end of the map, things start to look familiar. The cave the map is leading us to is the fuma cave—the place we fled to after Cadah’s death—the place I last saw Karl.
The day I spent at that cave was an awful day. Could it be possible there might be an identical cave next to it?
No, we’re close now. This is the same cave.
I bend down and grab some dirt. I’m not sure if I’m expecting to fight enemies or memories, but whichever it is, I want to be ready.
“You two stay here,” I whisper. “I’ll make sure no one is here.”
The two men nod and sit down. I grew up watching movies with men going into dangerous situations. But, that isn’t my reality. I’m an Azurean, and I’m better equipped to handle whatever lurks inside the cave than the men. The situation isn’t happy or sad. It’s reality.
I creep through the bushes until I’m close to the mouth of the cave. Someone is in there. A girl. I move closer, my hands ready with dirt. The girl’s back is to me. She doesn’t look dangerous, but you can never be sure. Something’s not right anyway—the girl’s practically naked. She’s wearing a shirt that is way too big for her, and it’s been torn and barely hangs on her shoulders. Her legs are completely bare. She must be freezing. Who has her trapped here?
She’s slender. Probably beautiful. I have no idea why she’s here or if she could be dangerous. She could be another Turina. Maybe it is Turina—she could have looked at the map before I got it back.
I slump down and count to two hundred. The girl doesn’t turn, and I don’t see anyone else. She might be alone.
My hands are still covered in dirt. “Who are you?” I call out.
The girl jumps at the sound of my voice, and she whirls around. Her eyes scan the horizon, looking for me. She’s not Turnia. I was right: she’s very pretty. She’s slender and tan, and her features are full and defined. But, even in the dim cave light, I can make out cuts and bruises all over her body. Whoever she’s with is in for it. Probably Arujan.
“I’m Somrusee,” she says, still looking around wildly.
“Hi Somrusee.” I decide I trust her enough to stand up. “I’m Lydia.” Our eyes meet, and she doesn’t move. That means she’s confident. She thinks she’s supposed to be here. But why is she here, and why is she wearing poor fitting clothes and covered in bruises?
“Are you alone?”
She takes time before replying. “No. He went out a few minutes ago to look around a little. Neither of us is familiar with this area.”
Is she lying to me? Everyone on the mountain grew up here. Well, except for me. And Mara.
“My, uh...” She pauses. “My friend and I escaped from the valley. We escaped from Wynn’s castle and found our way into the mountains.”
“How is that possible? If you’re from the valley, you shouldn’t be able to get into the mountains.”
This woman’s story isn’t lining up, but I’m not sure why she’s lying to me. Maybe the thing with Turina’s sister was a hoax—she helped us so she could find out where we were going. Now that we’re at the cave, this poor, helpless girl might be a distraction while my friends get beat up outside. It’s happened before.
The girl remains still, though her dark eyes follow every move I make as I approach her with my friends.
“My friend was here before, in the mountains,” she says. “But, he was captured by Wynn and taken to Wynn’s castle.”
Now I know she’s lying to me. Turina must have found out about Karl, and they’re using it against me. I turn away, embarrassed by the tears in my eyes. Tears for a man I barely knew.
A tall, shirtless man appears on the path below. When he sees us, he starts to run toward us.
“Somrusee, are you okay?” he yells. His accent is strange, and different than Somrusee’s.
My palms are sweaty and dirty.
“Yes,” Somrusee calls back. “This girl showed up a couple minutes ago.”
The man’s hand darts to his side and he pulls out a small knife. People throw knives here, and I don’t need one lodged in my brain. I duck low and run at the man—it’s hard to throw a knife at someone who is charging you. He stops and waits for me, swinging his knife as soon as I’m close to him. I dodge the blow and my left hand grazes his arm as I pass. The knife swishes in the empty air next to my head. But the touch was enough. I’m in his body. I crush the bones in his right foot before he finishes his swing.
I release the consciousness and spin around in time to grab the man’s knife as he falls face-first into the dirt. He hits the ground hard and screams in pain. I’m not sure it’s a good thing, but I smile with the satisfaction of the defeat. That was a tricky maneuver, but I pulled it off.
Somrusee is beside the man in an instant, pushing him onto his back and brushing his long hair out of his face as his screams turn into moans.
“What happened? Karu! What happened?” she says, and tears form in the corners of her eyes. It is weird behavior for someone who has been beaten.
And then I realize what she said. Karu. Karl?
I stagger back. Confused. It can’t be Karl. This man looks nothing like Karl Stapp. Or does he? Some of the features are the same, and when he opens his eyes, they glow. I stare, stunned, unable to move, unable to think.
Ler and Dynd walk down the path to join me. Grateful for the support, I lean into them.
“What’s going on?” Dynd asks. No one answers.
“Karl, is that you?” I ask, in English.
His face is contorted with pain, but he nods. “Yup. It’s me.”
Alive?
“Are you sure?” is all I manage to say in reply.
Karl moans. “I haven’t met anyone else around here who speaks English. Have you?”
“No.” It’s Karl, and I totally broke his foot! I grab more dirt, but I don’t go toward him. Somrusee grabs a second knife from Karl’s belt and jumps into a battle pose, her body straddling Karl’s.
“Don’t you dare!” she yells. Her eyes are frightened and wild. “I will kill you if you hurt him again.”
I stop. There is no doubt in my mind that she will do it. But I don’t need to touch him. I bite my finger until it bleeds, and I throw the dirt at Karl. In a matter of seconds, his foot is healed. I also heal his wrists, which are badly damaged and crusted over with scar tissue and scabs. And, I fix some terrible damage in his jaw and an infection in his ear.
Then I let go and look at him again.
It really is Karl.
And he’s alive.
“Put the knife down, Somrusee,” Karl says—in a funny accent, but in the language of this world. “This is Lydia. This is who we’re looking for.”
She steps off of him, and he stands and brushes himself off, avoiding eye contact. Or, is it me who is avoiding eye contact? “You’re like Wynn. You can heal people.”
Wynn. The word freezes my blue blood. “You’ve met Wynn?”
He nods.
“He’s real, then. Everything about him?”
Karl nods again.
“But still, you’re here? Alive! I thought you were dead. And you’ve faced Wynn.” I fight the impulse to hug him. Karl is a complete stranger. We barely know each other. And, he looks even more strange now, nothing like the Karl I saw run away. I don’t know what happened to all the fat on his body, but it’s been replaced with muscle. And, he’s not wearing a shirt so it’s totally obvious how fit he is, and it’s impressive. As is his ability to speak the language.
“I didn’t know if we would find you,” he finally says. “We’ve only been here two days.”
Two days? And he was looking for me after spending time with Wynn? Something doesn’t feel quite right. I look at Somrusee, and she looks back at me. She’s been badly beaten, and she’s dressed scantily—here with Karl for two days. How much do I really know about Karl, anyway? Did he do this to her? I need to be careful, and not just trust Karl because he speaks English.
“You look good,” I say cautiously. “Stronger. I like you without your beard.”
“Wynn pushed me hard—he trained me to be one of his men.”
One of his men. “Are we enemies, then?” Did I spent months mourning a man who would come back to kill me?
Karl shakes his head emphatically. “No. I ran away from Wynn. I came here, hoping to find you. I hoped you would...” His voice trails off.
Of course. “Would take you home now,” I finish for him, and my world shatters. All the work to get to the key and the map, and yet I’ve promised myself that if I ever found Karl, I would take him home. How could I back down now? I don’t know what I’ll do when I get home, but I won’t see Karl die here, not again. Still, the loss hits me hard. What will happen with Arujan? How can I leave everything I worked for here? Can I really do it? And go back to what? Will we even show up at the same time?
“I don’t want you to take me home.” Karl shakes his head, and his eyes meet mine. They’re glowing and intense, even more so than I remember.
“I hoped you would help me fight Wynn,” he says.
“What?” This definitely isn’t the same Karl who was here before.
“I’ve seen what he can do, and what he does. I’ve seen the people who live for days and years without hope. And, if you can tell me there is any chance of stopping him, that you really are an Azurean, then I want to die trying to stop him.”
Is he telling the truth? Should I trust him?
Dynd steps forward. “This girl,” he says. “You beat her?”
I silently thank Dynd for finally asking the awkward question.
“I saved her from being raped,” Karl says, and I know it’s true as he says it. I’m not sure how I know, but I do. And I decide right then that I trust him and his story. Karl was weak, fat, and nerdy. Now, even though he’s shorter than Dynd, he towers over him as he defends himself, a man ready to die for what he believes is true. What did they do to him at the castle?
“We had to run, and so we didn’t have time to get any supplies,” Karl turns back to me again. “We barely got onto the mountain before our enemies arrived. The mountain and its barrier saved us.”
Ler steps forward then, beaming. “Do you remember me, Karu?”
“How could I forget?”
The two men pound each other heartily on the back. It’s enough to make me smile. How can they greet each other like long-lost friends when they couldn’t even talk the last time they were together?
Karl starts to tell Ler about his time in the valley and introduces him to Somrusee. I back away and join Dynd, suddenly lonely. Even though Karl is from my world, he’s not my friend. Ler is his friend, and this girl, Somrusee, is his friend.
“We’ll need to find this girl some clothing,” Dynd mutters as I join him. “It may be okay to run around like that down in the valley, but it isn’t okay in the mountains.”
Somrusee turns and smiles. “Yes,” she agrees. “It’s cold in the evenings. I’m grateful Karl knew where to find t
his cave so we could snuggle together out of the wind.”
My hands clench. Inexplicably. “Are you two together?” I blurt.
“Yes,” Somrusee says at the same time Karl says, “No.”
They look at each other, and then Karl shrugs. “It’s complicated,” he says in English.
“In any case,” Somrusee says, glaring at Karl’s use of English, “We would both be grateful for some mountain attire.”
“You do need to be careful around us, though.” Karl looks at Somrusee with a non-verbal understanding only good friends have. “Wynn can hear everything we’re saying.”
My hands are suddenly sweaty, and I duck down next to the dirt. I’m not ready to meet Wynn.
“Are you serious?” My body tenses in anticipation of death. “You brought him here?”
“No! He’s in Sattah. This.” Somrusee lifts up her foot. An ugly copper stud protrudes out of it. It’s big on both sides; the skin has grown up to the thin part of it where it goes through her foot. It looks disgusting, and slightly infected.
“How did that get there?” Ler asks. “It looks awful.”
“Wynn,” Karl answers. “When I became one of Wynn’s men, he assigned Somrusee to be my slave. The clothing and the stud are both symbols of her status. The stud is what allows Wynn to hear our conversations. Have you learned how to do that, Lydia?”
I shake my head. I have no idea what he’s talking about. What I do know is the girl’s ankle is disgusting and I can fix it.
“Let me take it out,” I say.
“You can’t,” Somrusee says. I don’t think she’s trusted me since I attacked Karl. “Doing so would cripple me for life.”
“I’m an Azurean, remember?” I grab a little dirt, but Somrusee backs away looking like she’s ready to bolt. Karl takes her hand, and only then does she relax and let me touch her, while she stares up at Karl. I heal her bruises and cuts on her face and shoulders, and I take out the stud. When it went into her heel, it caused a lot of damage. I fix that up, too.
When I pull back, I take one look at her and wish I hadn’t done such a good job. Without the bruises and cuts, she’s really beautiful. Much prettier than I am. Karl is smiling as he studies her healed face.