The Ascension Trial

by CJ Embers

“Why are you so okay with that?” she demanded angrily.

  “What else am I supposed to do, Nala? Mope around until my inevitable death? At least by being in a decent mood, it’ll make the rest of my time a bit better.”

  “We could escape,” she pointed out, sounding fed up that she had to keep mentioning it.

  “And then what?” I asked. “We escape, and then what? Even if we try to sneak out of the city, do you really think all of us would go unseen? And as soon as we’d be seen, we’d be dead. I may be an Adeptus, but I’m certainly not strong enough to take on an entire army.”

  “So you’re just going to give up?” she questioned, frustration flickering in her eyes. “All the things you fought for, and you’re just going to shrug and let them execute you?”

  Irritated at her arguing, my words took on a biting tone. “What would we do if we did get out of Marnori, Nala? We would have nowhere to go!” I leaned back against the wall. “Better to be dead than an outcast.”

  My cellmate looked like someone had slapped her. “I expected more of you,” she said as she went back to her side.

  “I told you I wasn’t a hero. I told you to put your faith in someone else.”

  Nala didn’t respond. I glanced at the other prisoners to see they looked disappointed and hopeless. When my eyes fell upon the teen who had shown her fealty to me, my heart dropped. Although I was glad to see she was still alive, I felt guilt and anger.

  She was two cells over, and I went up to the bars of mine. “Why’d you do it?” I asked, grasping the cold metal.

  Despite her circumstances, the teen hardly looked scared. Instead, hope was in her eyes. “Because you are my chance at a life of freedom… and every woman’s chance,” she answered.

  I gripped the bars tighter as frustration coiled through me, the metal gritty against my palms. “You could be executed for what you did, or at the very least spend years in that cell! Does that not scare you? What about your mother? She will surely be punished, and that doesn’t bother you? Your siblings could be left without a mother to raise them. Your choices don’t affect just you!”

  Anger flared in her eyes. “Says the girl who usurped the Ascension Trial, killed many Tehji, and overtook her village! Do you not have a mother or siblings? You can’t fight for change and yet at the same time shame people for supporting that change!”

  Too frustrated to reply, I pushed off from the bars and went to my cot. Although I knew she was right, it still made me angry and terrified.

  What do I do, Helis? These people are counting on me to do things I never said I would do.

  “Is that not the burden leaders must carry?”

  I’m not their leader! I’m not anyone’s leader anymore!

  “By becoming the first female Adeptus and the first female leader, you became other women’s hope whether you wanted to or not.”

  Then what do I do?

  “That’s up to you.”

  I grumbled under my breath, irritated that he wasn’t giving me his opinion; but I knew why he wasn’t. Even though he was showing himself and speaking to me again, it still didn’t mean he was absolving me. This was still my problem to deal with.

  I silently questioned whether I was being a hypocrite as I struggled with separating the cause for battle from my own hates. Even after all this time, it was so difficult to do it, and I couldn’t help feeling a flicker of shame for wanting to destroy the patriarchy while simultaneously, my successes were all thanks to a man… and a god, at that.

  It felt like I didn’t deserve to be thought so highly of because of that. The women in this prison seemed to revere me, and even outside, my actions had sparked something, and yet almost none of it was because of me. The only thing I had accomplished was beating the Trial and becoming an Adeptus… but that would have ended shortly after if Helis had not showed up and saved me from being burned at the stake.

  The hours ticked by, and I still didn’t know what I should do. I didn’t want the women imprisoned here to have to spend more years jailed, outcast, or forced to conform to misogynistic laws. But at the same time, I didn’t see a way for us to succeed in escaping.

  * * *

  It had been at least a couple of weeks since I had returned to the jailhouse after meeting with the Tehji. Nala had given up asking me to help us all escape, and Helis seemed to have gotten over his spurt of sociability, because he hadn’t talked to me at all.

  Despite the feeling of hopelessness, my appetite had grown, and I was no longer losing weight. Another thing I despised myself for… Thinking the dark deity had abandoned me, I had let myself wither away. Putting so much of myself in the god’s hands, I was willing to let myself die when I thought he had left me.

  When the main door of the building opened, a handful of guards came inside, along with a Tehjin. They came to my cell, unlocked it, and stepped inside.

  The Tehjin spoke. “Kena of Shekri, we have decided upon your sentence.”

  I waited for his verdict expectantly.

  “You will be executed.”

  Nala immediately burst into tears. Many of the other prisoners who were close enough to hear the conversation started yelling at the men and hitting the bars of their cells.

  The Tehjin looked around at the ruckus and anger flared within his eyes. He ordered the guards to grab me before he turned around and left the cell.

  When two of the three guards stepped forward to shackle me, I held out my wrists. The guard with the metal bonds snapped one over one wrist, then went for the other. As the cuffs brushed against my skin, I jerked back and swung the dangling shackles at the man. The metal cracked over his skull, splitting the skin and spraying blood and knocking him unconscious.

  The second guard went for the sword in his sheath, but I swung again. As he reeled back from the force, the third guard was nearly on top of me. Blood pounding in my ears, I dodged a swing of his sword as the other man recovered and was about to rejoin the fight.

  To my horror, Nala jumped onto him from behind, ripping into his hair and punching his head.

  As the blade came down again, I hit the flat side of the weapon hard enough to make the man’s arm fling to the side. I shoved him in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards out of the cell. I leapt onto him and threw punch after punch at his face.

  Nala’s shriek ripped through the air and I whipped around. My cellmate had been flung off the remaining guard and the man was closing in on her.

  I scrambled to my feet and dashed back inside the cell. Lunging for the man, I barreled into him and we crashed against the wall. My head grazed the stone and my vision blurred for a moment, giving him the upper hand.

  His fingers wrapped around my throat as hatred blazed in his eyes. I tried prying his hands off, but he was much too strong in my dazed state. Adrenaline shot through my veins as my survival instincts kicked in full force, and I whipped the shackles at his face.

  The guard recoiled, but his grip remained stiff as rock. My vision flickered as I neared unconsciousness. Summoning all the strength I had, I lashed out with the metal again, this time aiming for his temple.

  The man’s hands loosened just enough for me to grab one and shove it backwards. His wrist snapped and he yelled out in pain before I railed on his face.

  When he fell unconscious, I fell back, chest heaving. My pulse was pounding below my jaw. Clenching my teeth, I stumbled over to Nala. She appeared to be dizzy, and I checked over her head to see she had a wound that was bleeding heavily.

  I rushed over to one of the guards and quickly undid his chest piece to get to the shirt underneath. After tearing off a strip, I went back to Nala and gently wrapped it around her head.

  “Don’t move, okay?”

  She weakly nodded. Before I could get up, she put her trembling fingers on my shoulder. “T-Thank you, Kena… For not giving up.”

  I squeezed her fingers, then went to the guard who had unlocked our cell and grabbed the keys from his pocket. Finally being able to take a moment
to look up, I saw all the other prisoners were staring through the bars of their cells, hope and excitement blazing in their eyes.

  Realizing someone in the room was missing, my slowing heart began rattling again. “Did anyone see what happened to the Tehjin?”

  One of the prisoners spoke up. “He ran out the door as soon as the fighting started.”

  A pit settled in my stomach as I undid the cuff around my wrist. “Then he will surely be back soon. We need to hurry.” The shackles dropped and I started for the first cell.

  I went around, unlocking the doors and letting the prisoners free. When I got to the young teen’s cell, determination and hope shone in her eyes. After opening her cell, she threw her arms around me and squeezed tightly.

  As I put my arms around her, I asked, “What’s your name?”

  “Maia,” she answered.

  I pulled back, my hands on her shoulders. “Well, Maia, are you sure you’re willing to do this?”

  She looked indignant. “Why are you asking me and not anyone of the others you’re letting out?”

  “Because you’re the only kid here, Maia. The others in here have already spent years experiencing the oppressive rule of the Tehji. Because you’re not of age yet, this is most likely the first time you’re experiencing a consequence of this extent. You need to know that it’s possible that what we’re doing could go sour and—”

  “I’ve already made my choice,” she interrupted, then gestured to the exit. “We need to get going before the Tehjin returns with his backup.”

  I knew her mind was made up, so all I could do was hope she wouldn’t come to regret it or end up dying. Swallowing my worries, I went for another cell.

  “Not her!” someone called out.

  I stopped, pulling back the key. “Why not?”

  “She’s an actual criminal,” the woman said. “She’s in here for murdering an innocent child.”

  I looked around at the others, and they nodded.

  Looking back at the prisoner, there were tears in her eyes. “It was years ago. I’m a different person now. Please don’t leave me here.”

  I hesitated. She seemed sincere.

  Stepping back, I shook my head. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”

  “Let me out!” she screamed, hitting the bars.

  Ignoring her and trying to convince myself I made the right choice, I continued down the row, working quickly. Among the rest of the prisoners, there were two more who had committed actual crimes, and I left them to rot when they showed no remorse.

  Finally done, I led the group towards the exit. Reaching the guard who had been thrown out of the cell, I leaned down to grab his sword. As soon as my fingers wrapped around the grip, the weapon shimmered.

  As I straightened, ebony tendrils crawled along the blade, turning the silver metal black. My breath caught in my throat as I watched the weapon transform. When it was done, it was no longer the guard’s sword grasped in my hand, but the jagged blade of the Trial deity.

  Chapter 16

  M y heart thundered as I gazed upon the black sword of the dark god. It seemed like I could feel his presence, but when I turned around, he was not there.

  The power radiating from the weapon was immense, and it was cold to the touch, the icy aura emanating up my arm. Knowing Helis was with me, even if not in his physical form, strengthened my resolve of escaping being the right choice.

  The women were staring at me, shocked and speechless with awe. I told some of them to grab Nala and the remaining weapons from the other guards. The Tehjin could return with his backup any time, and I didn’t want to still be around when that happened.

  When we were set, I opened the jailhouse door and peeked out. There was no one visible, and I thanked my lucky stars. I had no idea why backup hadn’t arrived yet, but we would hopefully be able to get away from the building before it did.

  After making sure Nala had been retrieved, I motioned for one of the women to come forward.

  “Do you know the way out of the city?”

  She nodded, so I asked for her to choose the least-walked path and lead the way. We started off, and I stuck close by her in case something happened.

  I knew there was a high chance of getting caught. There were at least three dozen women here. Such a huge, ratty-looking group who were clearly trying to sneak around stuck out like a sore thumb.

  We were near a corner when a Marnori citizen rounded a building. Seeing the group, his eyes widened and he whipped around. I lunged forward and grabbed his clothes, yanking him back.

  Putting the ebony blade to his throat, I growled, “Keep your mouth shut and I might let you live.”

  The man nodded and I kept my hand grasping the back of his shirt as we started moving again. I kept getting glimpses of the main road of the city through the buildings, and my stomach was in a perpetual clench, knowing one of the Marnorians would just have to look over at the right time to spot us.

  A loud shattering ripped through the air, and I looked back to see one of the women had knocked over a vase. Her eyes were full of terror.

  “Faster,” I hissed to my guide.

  The women looked grim and forged ahead.

  With the hostage still in tow, I fell back for a moment to make sure everyone would make it out of the area, and noticed a guard wandering over between two buildings. I glanced over at the women and knew they wouldn’t be out of sight in time.

  Pressing my back against the wall, I tightened my grip on the jagged sword and gave my prisoner a hard glance. The guard’s footsteps came closer and closer, and my mind flitted through the options of how to deal with him.

  With my other hand full of trying to keep the hostage to my side, it would be more difficult to take a route that didn’t end up in the guard’s death.

  Knowing the guard was almost upon us, I glanced at the hostage and mouthed, ‘Move when I do.’

  Just as the guard appeared, I jumped in front of him, fingers still grasping the hostage. Raising my sword, I brought it down and struck the pommel on the guard’s head.

  The man reeled back with a pained cry and I bit back my frustration at not knocking him out in one hit. I lunged forward again and brought the sword down even harder.

  When his eyes fluttered closed, I turned around and snuck back in the direction that the group had gone. Turning a corner, I saw the women were still on their way. My relief was short-lived as two guards appeared in front of the guide, making everyone stop.

  Pulling the hostage in front of me, I raised the ebony metal to his throat. I was about to speak to the two guards and bargain when the women surged forward. The men stood no chance against three dozen people and fell immediately.

  I lowered the blade from my hostage’s throat and let the women deal with the guards. Seeing such quiet viciousness was eerie. When the crowd parted moments later, the two men were unmoving on the cobblestone. Prodding the hostage to move, I went up to the guards and noticed their chests rising and falling with shallow breaths.

  “Pull them away from the alley, behind this building,” I whispered.

  A few women jumped into action. There was nowhere to fully hide the men, but at least by being behind the building, they wouldn’t be in full view for anyone to see just by glancing down the alley.

  When the women were done, I dispatched both men, causing some of the women to look shocked.

  “I can’t risk them waking up too early and giving away our location,” I explained quietly. I realized I should have done the same to the other man, but it was too late now. I didn’t want to end their lives, but it was either theirs or the women’s.

  After motioning for the guide to continue, I made my way to the front of the group to ask her how much longer it would be until we were at the main gate.

  “At this pace, five minutes,” she answered.

  We were so close, I could almost taste it. But five minutes was an eternity when you were a fugitive. We had almost gotten caught three times. Anything could happen in
another five minutes, like the chance of someone finding the guards’ bodies; the city would probably be put in lockdown, effectively making it impossible to escape.

  I kept my worries to myself, not letting even a hint of it rest upon my face.

  Not even two minutes later, I thought I heard a rush of footsteps coming from the main street, and my heart skipped a beat. Was that the Tehjin’s backup finally arriving?

  Thankfully, so far it didn’t seem like the bodies of the guards had been found. If the Tehjin’s backup was smart, however, they wouldn’t be searching the main streets for us, and would therefore find the corpses soon.

  A few minutes later, the guide motioned for the group to stop. My hostage was looking agitated, and I put my blade up to his neck again to let him to know to stay silent.

  Peeking around the corner, I could see the main gate. Seeing how heavily guarded it was and how much civilian traffic was in the area, I had no idea how we would get through.

  “Is there not another way out?” I quietly asked the guide.

  She gave an uncertain shrug. “There are two other gates on the non-cliff sides, but they’re not any less guarded than this one and don’t generally have fewer citizens roaming around, either.”

  I took one more peek, then pulled back. Based on what little I had seen when being herded into the city, the gate did indeed look more fortified now than before. Knowing they were more on alert now that the Tehjin had spread the word made my stomach clench with apprehension.

  It was likely the other gates were just as fortified, but even if they weren’t, we couldn’t spare the time to go check. I sighed and leaned against the wall of the building we were near. I wanted to voice my concerns, but if the women knew I had no idea how to get us all past the gate, they might panic.

  There were too many guards for me to take on, and although two other women also had swords, it wasn’t enough to help turn the tide, especially since they were untrained and would likely be no help if we were attacked.

  The group was looking at me expectantly, and I motioned for them to wait.