Anais Eternal

by Paige Graffunder

  "What is that?" I asked, scrunching my face up and temporarily spreading my magic around Etachs again so they could see me.

  "Explosives," they said in a singsong, playful voice that I couldn't decide if I loved or feared. "Come on, it’s time to end the suffering of those held here." Etachs said and began to run me through their plan. By the time they had finished explaining, I was grinning too.

  Liberation

  Thrixx spent all day with the Fae and they had done nothing but scream. They provided no answers to Thrixx's questions. None of the other Fae Thrixx questioned had ever been this resilient. They had lived a soft and privileged life before the Usurping of their planet and were soft. Sometimes just the threat of violence was enough. Not for this one though, this one was different. Thrixx tapped their claws on the arm of the chair they sat in and stared at the monitor in front of them. After several hours they put the Fae to sleep through the feed in their arm. They looked at the prone, unconscious form of the female on the table. The blood had been cleaned away and Thrixx sent in medics to clean and patch its wounds. They had always found that the healing of the body between sessions led to greater results for future questioning.

  When the Fae awoke, it would find relief from pain and, thus, the promise of future pain would be that much more unbearable to it. At least that had been the case before. Through the punishing hours, the Fae had not talked, and it had not called upon its magic. That was really the crux of Thrixx's frustration. They had hoped that the pain would force the magic out, as it had done with all the rest of its kind. Thrixx knew that this one was different, but so far, they had been unable to figure out how. They sighed heavily and turned away from the monitor, rose from their chair, and began pacing. They would try to talk to it again today, in a few hours, and if that yielded nothing, they would try a different tact. Something more dramatic.

  ◆◆◆

  I sprinted down the hallway, following the instructions Etachs had given me. It was a left then a right then another left. I kept my magic close around me, an arrow nocked in my bow as I went. When I saw an Enforcer, their life ended immediately. I smirked as I thought that they would eventually lead me back out of here, like gruesome little breadcrumbs in one of Tatiana’s bedtime stories. As I rounded a corner, I saw another flash of scales and loosed an arrow before I even thought to do so. It buried itself into the Himlani's ear and I yanked it free as I stepped over its corpse, nocking it in my bow again, with the string pulled at half tension.

  One more turn, then one more hallway, and I would use the Himlani arm stuffed into my quiver with my arrows. I rounded the corner and faced three Himlani Enforcers and an impenetrable-looking door. I grinned and drew the bowstring back to full tension, targeting the one in the center. I loosed the arrow and as the Enforcer in my sights crumpled in a spray of black blood, I dropped my magic, appearing to materialize from thin air before the two remaining Himlani. They both turned to look at their fallen comrade, then turned stunned gazes up to my small form, my face covered in splatters of black Himlani blood, my hands slick with it, and the stump of a Himlani arm protruding from my quiver.

  I nodded my head in greeting. "Hey guys, you seen any filthy, lizard-brained, Himlani scum around?" They gaped at me for another second and then belatedly raised their Rounders. I grinned, my sharp teeth fully on display. "Oh, there they are!" I slipped from my own mind, into the one on the right. It felt disgusting; its thoughts were mechanical and disturbing. I turned its head to face the other, who looked back at it warily.

  "What are you doing?" it said uncertainly in their clicking, alien tongue. I forced the other one to grin widely, as pink tears slid down its cheek, and it fired its Rounder. The other dropped and I snapped back into my own body, gulping in air as I drew another arrow. I fired but missed my mark as the Himlani I had occupied dodged to the side. I cursed as they launched themselves at me. I couldn't step out of the way in time and the Enforcer tackled me bodily to the floor. They pinned my shoulders and glared into my face, tears still spilling from their eyes.

  "What are you?" they growled. I smiled up into its conflicted face and pulled the severed arm from my quiver, grasping the stiff hand and driving the claws into the Enforcer's soft and unprotected eye. They howled, reeling as they clutched at the bloody ruined cavern I have carved into their face. I stood casually and brushed myself off, which only smeared the sticky blood over my body more. I retrieved my wayward arrow from the floor and walked back to the pathetic writhing figure. I put my boot on its chest, turning it over onto its back. I knelt, leaning all my weight on their chest, as I bent low over it, a serene smile on my face as I looked down at it. The Enforcer looked back at me through their one remaining eye, wide with terror and pain. Their face a macabre collage of pink tears and viscous black blood.

  "What am I?" I asked sweetly, resting my crossed forearms on my bent knee, the arrow dangling loosely from my blood-coated left hand.

  "My sweet summer tankling..." I said, smiling in maternal condescension. "I am your vengeful and forgotten God. I am the death of you, of your people, your species. I will personally smite all who ever knew you. I will erase your species from the genetic code of the universe, and when I am done, I will laugh." I blew them a sardonic kiss and sank the arrow into their remaining eye with deliberate slowness. Relishing the feeling of the arrow tip first pushing into their eye, then the sickening popping sound as the eye gave under my arrowhead’s targeted pressure. I leaned into it, forcing it through their eye socket and into their brain. Black blood bubbled out around the shaft of my arrow and the Himlani twitched and shuddered violently, before it went still. Its mouth shaped with the half-formed plea for mercy I didn’t give it a chance to speak.

  I yanked the arrow back out of the Himlani as I stood, ignoring the sickening squelching noise as it pulled free. I bent to retrieve the severed arm and returned both it and the gore slick arrow to my quiver. I stepped to the door, pulled the arrow from the neck of the middle Enforcer and used it to open the throat of the one paralyzed by the Rounder. I lifted the severed arm to the panel on the door and heard a faint beep. The metal door before me swung open and I was left standing before a long hallway lined on both sides by vaulted doors.

  Etachs had told me that these had no external locks as they were only able to be controlled from the outside. I stepped to the terminal and looked for the symbols Etachs had specified. My fingers danced across the unfamiliar terminal as I entered the commands Etachs told me would open the doors. As I did, I heard a loud click as hundreds of locks retracted, echoing through the empty hallway. The creaking of every single door swinging open rang in my ears, like the bells of liberation. And I stood, coated in blood, before the Defected, as they stepped, limped, and dragged themselves from their imprisonment.

  Some were in worse shape than others. They rose to their feet, the ones who were unable to do so helped by their fellows, and they looked at me. Their eyes were haunted, their bodies wrecked and ruined. Seeing them, I felt the incredible empathy that my magic was based on well up inside of me. It slammed against me like a tsunami of grief and I battled internally against it. I wanted to lay waste to all who would do this to their own kind, to anyone. There would be no mercy. I steadied myself against the torrent of emotion and faced them fully, my mouth and throat working to form words in their native tongue.

  "You do not know me, but you know my kind," I shouted, my words sounding much stronger than I felt as they echoed through the hall. "Your race came here and laid waste to my people, my planet, as they have laid waste to you. I have come here to grant you freedom from their cruelty. You have no obligation to join me, you are free to go your own way and live as you see fit and are able, but in order to liberate my planet, I need some help." Some stared at me, some with rapt attention, eager to assist the one that had freed them, and others with cautious wariness, and apprehension. "I cannot and will not force you. Your bodies and minds are yours and yours alone to govern from here forth. But I can and do
ask that some remain to help.

  "I specifically need people who are familiar with your technology and the communications systems, as well as implants. It is my intention to free the Humans from their bondage as I have freed you, but I don't have the knowledge to do this alone. As we speak, one of your own is laying explosives around the lab in this facility to ensure that the cruelty dealt to you will never be repeated. I ask for your help to offer the same to the Humans and the captive Fae." My words were met with silence.

  "Are there any among you that would offer aid?" I asked. Silence. I felt my heart drop. Perhaps they had suffered too much, been too long broken to be willing to risk more. Just as I was about to give up hope, and simply shepherd them to freedom, one stepped forward.

  "I will help. I was a Technician and have the knowledge you seek." Their voice was shaky, quiet, and unsure. I could see the pink skin where their scales had been removed. The silvery-purple scales that remained were dull and they appeared gaunt, but I nodded.

  "What is your name?" I asked them.

  "Tarq," they replied.

  "Thank you, Tarq. I am in your debt," I said before continuing. "If there is no one else, that is OK. As I said, your minds and bodies are your own and free to do as you see fit. You have suffered enough as it is. Follow me and you will taste the fresh air in lungs that are free." I spun on my heels and began to walk out of the hallway. It was only a moment or two before I heard them begin to follow, slowly at first, but with more intention as they realized the truth in my words. Just as I stepped through the doorway, the first of the explosions rocked the facility and the floor shook. I spun around and yelled, "Hurry, we don't have long! Keep up or be buried under the rubble!"

  I slowed and stepped back to help a Himlani who was missing several limbs. I wrapped my arm around them, and half carried them, as we began our mad dash to the outside world. We thundered through labyrinthine hallways, past control rooms filled with the dead Etachs and I had sent to their Gods, if they kept any. Concussive blasts rang out and debris began to shake free from the ceiling. Walls began to crack, and the lights extinguished. I called upon my magic to produce a soft, orange globe of Faelight, to lead them, all who could detect my Fae magic in this place were dead... As we neared the exit, Etachs shot out of a hallway ahead of us and grinned as they caught sight of me. The others hesitated as they regarded the wild and bloodsoaked Himlani before them.

  I used my free arm to take their hand and together we ran outside to freedom, dashing past the destroyed Sentinels and into the cover of the trees. Just as the last of the Himlani cleared the grounds, the largest explosion yet rocked the facility and it began to crumble, imploding upon itself as its victims breathed free air. Some turned to watch it sink and fall; others caught their breath among the trees.

  "We can't stay here," Etachs said in a low voice, using my language.

  "I know," I said. "But give them a moment, and then we will head back to the safety of the watch." Etachs nodded.

  "Were there any among them that would help?" they asked.

  "Only one," I replied. As I spoke, the one in question stepped up beside us.

  "Thank you," they said in a low and humbled voice. Etachs regarded them coolly, then nodded, switching back to Himlani.

  "There is no need to thank us. You freed yourself; we merely opened the door."

  "I am not sure that is entirely true, but as you wish," said Tarq. I made the introductions between the two Himlani and went to check on the others. After a few minutes of rest, I doled out instructions. I told them that none had to follow us, but that for a short time if they did, we could provide them with a safe place to tend to their wounded and decide what to do with their newfound liberation. I did not arm them but told them to be on their guard. We began walking.

  Ayesha circled overhead, warning us of incoming threats. The Himlani that had escaped our wrath on the way in were swiftly dealt with, without ceremony or hesitation. I could feel Tarq cringe at the violence, but they did not object. While our progress was slowed by the wounded, we made it back to the passthrough, to the 3 o'clock beach, just as dusk was settling into night. I pulled back the opening and allowed the Himlani to enter. I noted that we had lost a few along the way. They had struck out to make their own paths, but most had opted to follow us here.

  As we settled on the small beach, Etachs dropped their pack and also a large second bag they carried out of the facility. They opened the larger pack first and began to remove things that I had never seen. Container after container and devices that looked as though they were meant to fit over limbs. One by one the wounded walked or were brought forward, and Etachs spoke quietly and gently to them, asking about their pains and maladies, hearing their stories. Tarq and I sat off to the side and watched, silent, as Etachs administered salves and creams, tinctures and pills. Snapping the weird limb sheaths over broken and newly deformed limbs and speaking always in the same low, soothing voice. For some with missing limbs and more grievous injuries, there was nothing in the bag. Etachs asked them to stay close as the rest wandered off with their remedies.

  Once it was just the severely mangled left, Etachs walked over to Tarq and I. "I cannot heal the ones left, but you may be able to, as you healed me," they said to me in a low voice. I felt Tarq's gaze shift to me, but I held Etachs' look.

  "Will they accept my help?" I asked. Etachs closed both sets of eyelids and stayed that way for several seconds, thinking.

  "I think so, but I cannot answer for them." I nodded and got to my feet, feeling Tarq's eyes on me as I crossed to the huddled group. They shrank back from me, but only a little. I hunkered down before them.

  "Do you see that Etachs has some scales that are different?" I asked them softly, taking the same soothing tone that Etachs had. Their eyes all went to my friend, who was now sitting with Tarq, their heads bowed together and speaking quietly. Some of them nodded, and I pressed on. "When I met them, they were injured, and I healed them through my magic. I can try to do the same for you, but there are some things you should know first."

  No one spoke; they simply looked at me, so I continued. "I do not know if I can bring back lost limbs, but I can certainly try, and whatever part of you I make anew, will not be able to be camouflaged like the rest of your body. Do you understand?"

  They nodded and I spoke again. "If there are any among you who wish me to try, I am here to offer what aid I can give." A small Himlani with scales the shade of the sea in the tropics spoke up.

  "Why would you offer to help us when we did not offer the same to you when you asked?" they said.

  "Because I wish to help all who have suffered, and you have been forced into subjugation for long enough to not wish to risk it again."

  "But why?"

  "That is just who I am," I said simply and shrugged.

  The Himlani that had spoken extended the stump of their arm to me and I felt my magic whisper to life, filling me with its purpose. I put my hands on the remnants of their arm and asked my magic to help me. The magic gave the only answer I needed, yes. I let the magic flow through me, my blood hot with the power of it, and into the Himlani. I felt it course through them and map the part that was missing, creating a cast of the limb as it should be beneath my hands. I felt it solidify with intention and then as flesh. When my eyes opened, my hands were no longer holding a stump. They were instead wrapped gently around an arm, full, functional, and bronze. The Himlani opened their eyes and peered down at their new limb, eyes wide with shock and wonder.

  They flexed their fingers a few times and then threw themselves around me, embracing me with all that was in them as they cried into my hair, babbling words of thanks and gratitude. I held them as they wept and ran my fingers through their hair, whispering Fae platitudes they likely did not understand. I continued to speak softly as they shuddered and shook. After a time, they pulled away. Their eyes met mine.

  "I was a Modder before I was identified as defective. I will help you," they said quietly. "What
is your name, Fae?"

  "Anais," I said quietly, bowing my head.

  "I am Cylvre," they said and returned the bow respectfully.

  "My thanks to you, Cylvre," I said, my voice choked with grateful tears I did not wish to spill.

  Cylvre joined Etachs and Tarq. One after another, I healed the most broken among the survivors and when I was finished three more had joined our small bands of insurgents and the rest had cut off locks of what hair they had and pressed them into my hands. I laid back in the sand with the cuttings of their hair held tightly to my chest, as waves of exhaustion washed over me. I was so depleted I could barely open my eyes. I felt clawed hands slide beneath me, I was lifted gently into alien arms. I could smell the familiar scent of Etachs' hair and tried to murmur something to them, but they shushed me and carried me off to sleep.

  Revolution Now

  Tatiana sank deeper inside herself. She was aware of them hurting her body again, but it felt like nothing more than an annoyance to her way down here, in the darkness and the depths of her mind. Ever since she was a child, she was always introspective. Her mother used to say that when she was an infant, she would sometimes appear to draw inside herself and think deep thoughts, too deep for any baby. Her mother and father had joked that she was to be a philosopher.

  Perhaps she would have been if the world had not ended. Tatiana had always been able to do this, to sink inside herself, and block out all else. She had been doing it since she was a youngling and, over her long life, had only gotten better at it. When there was a storm and no shelter, she could always find refuge inside her mind. She would float on the top for a time, as if on the ocean, then once she was comfortable there, she would sink. Down, down, down she went, suspended in the cool cocoon of silence, of thought, of introspection. She built her mind into an impenetrable fortress, and no matter what they did to her body, her mind would not be breached.