12
Drake awoke to the taste of blood. Then felt the impact of someone’s fist in his face. More blood flooded his mouth and he forced his eyes open to face the attacker. The spindly fool was wearing a Da’Nesh uniform. He looked around Drake’s age, and was wearing a confident grin. This man, Drake decided, would die first. He tried to lunge forward, but to no avail.
His hands were secured behind his back and he was kneeling on the ground. Drake cast a glance around the room, the bloodlust rising. If they hurt Ruby – but there was no way they could. He had made sure of it. The cabin was impenetrable. No doubt she would be awake now, wondering where he was. At least she wasn’t here. Although the overly selfish part of him wished she were with him even now. She gave him such strength with just her mere presence.
He heard a hum of voices all around him, and he appeared to be in some sort of tunnel. This made no sense. Apparently he had been caught unawares. Why in the name of the Divine hadn’t they now just went ahead and killed him?
“Well, well, well,” A familiar voice echoed. Drake stiffened. “Look whose past finally caught up with him.”
“Tesara.” Drake said through gritted teeth. He winced at his own utter stupidity. “I should have known.”
“Yes, you should have,” Tesara chided. Her semitransparent gown fluttered in front of him. She scraped a fingernail down the side of his face. “Desperation is such weakness.”
His bonds shook from the strain, but they did not give way. Drake closed his eyes, taking deep even breaths, trying to calm the warrior inside him. He needed to strike at the opportune moment. Not a moment before. Not a moment after.
Tesara threw her head back and laughed, shaking her blonde locks. “This is almost too much. Drake of Alium brought to his knees by mere Da’Nesh soldiers and a woman. The General will be thrilled. Even I doubted that it would be this easy to accomplish.”
Drake felt his blood turn to ice. “Then why am I not dead? The General is here, no? Let him do it himself.”
“Oh he intends on doing just that,” she replied motioning the soldiers forward to grasp and force him off the ground. Tesara was almost at eye level, her eyes fixed on him. Deep coiling rage simmered beneath his cool façade. She tilted her head to the side, in challenge. “You trusted too easily, Drake. That will be your downfall. You were so fixated on destroying the Da’Nesh, on petty revenge, that you couldn’t see what was right before you. The General noticed this. The General intends to make an example of you.”
She led the way down the tunnel and soldiers gripped his shoulders to force him to walk behind her. The roar of voices became louder and louder.
He could see sunlight and smelled fresh grass, food, and people. Lots of people. As they exited the tunnel the light blinded him momentarily. The Earth’s sun was so much more potent, especially for someone that lived on a spaceship a majority of the time.
He was walking into an arena of sorts. Men in odd shaped uniforms with numbers were standing around on the field, looking at them curiously, and then backing away. Drake looked up to see a massive screen, which was filled with the image of this strange invading party. The people in the crowd began to scream, but soldiers began pouring into the aisles, blocking any chance of an exit.
Drake could see men, women, and children of all ages. This was definitely not a typical Da’Nesh arena crowd. These were innocents of Earth. His stomach clenched; something was wrong.
Then he saw him. General Da’Nesh, still robed in gold, standing in the center of the arena. The smooth golden mask still suspended over his face. Drake’s fingers itched to pull away the cover and see the true face of the Da’Nesh. It was said that no one had ever looked upon the General before. Drake wanted nothing more than to see the face of the person who had killed his family, the man who was responsible for the destruction of his home… his life. He wanted to see the life leave the General’s eyes when he killed him. The feared military leader seemed much smaller in person.
The soldiers handling him jerked to a stop a few feet away and Tesara slid up against the General, whispering something into his ear, a cat-like smile creeping onto her face.
General Da’Nesh held out his hand in silence. The crowd began to still, but Drake smirked at the loud insults that a few stragglers hurtled toward the Da’Nesh. These people of Earth certainly had spirit.
“Today is your day of reckoning,” the General’s voice boomed throughout the arena. Drake tensed at the familiar words. Ten years ago on Alium, the General had spoke in the same way. “Earth has made several actions against the Da’Nesh. Questioning its sovereignty in the universe, refusing to take part in Da’Nesh law and tradition, and undermining the sacred practice of the Da’Nesh. Failure to comply will not be tolerated. Assimilation must happen, or there shall be chaos.” The General paused, raising his hand to Drake. “With this man, I will show you true power. With his death, your last hope will die.”
General Da’Nesh drew the sacred sword, and Drake saw first hand the ceremonial weapon. The one that had struck down his parents and many of the Alium people. The one that would have been leveled against Ruby had she not escaped from the arena.
Ruby. Her name was like a prayer on his lips. The General walked towards him, the sword glinting in the midday sun. Drake felt his heart beat, his arms bulging in an effort to break his hands free. His vision blurred to green momentarily, but he let out a frustrated roar. It was no use. He couldn’t break free.
A clicking sound echoed overhead, but the General didn’t seem to notice. He stopped a few feet in front of Drake. He could practically feel the sardonic smile directed at him through the plate of gold.
Drake raised his head. If this was indeed how he should end, then he would die as a warrior. He would go with honor; for himself and for Ruby. The thought of his Beloved and death was like a knife into his heart.
“Killing me won’t stop anything, General. Earth knows your true nature now, and they won’t give up without a fight. And the people of Alium will never stop fighting. Tens years will seem like nothing compared to the time ahead of you now. Alium will never give up. We will reclaim our homeland once more.”
General Da’Nesh reached up slowly, and removed his mask. Even the Da’Nesh troops gasped at the unprecedented act. But Drake couldn’t even react. He couldn’t move. Pure and utter shock forced him immobile. If the world stopped spinning he wouldn’t even notice.
Instead of seeing the face of the man he despised most in the entire world, he was facing the woman who had literally stepped out of his dreams. This was impossible.
Ruby smiled at him, shaking her brown tresses down over her shoulders and throwing the ghastly gold robe off to reveal her Alium clothes with the crest stitched over her heart. His colors.
“Great speech! Very noble, I completely approve. I hope you’re ready to fight. Something’s telling me the General isn’t going to stay tied up long. I never could get the whole knot-tying thing down. It isn’t going to be easy getting out of this one,” she cast a worried look around, “we couldn’t set any chargers as a distraction since there are so many civilians.”
“I – what?” Drake stuttered, shaking his head. She threw herself at him, her hand wrapping around his back. With a low hum the handcuffs dropped heavily to the ground, and his arms wrapped around her body instinctively.
“Someone! Stop them! By the order of the Da’Nesh! I am your General! Do as I say at once!” An older man hobbled onto the field in a white robe. He was waving his hands wildly. “Kill them! Kill them now!”
Ruby hugged his neck tightly, her lips against his ear. “The lights are going out.” She nudged her head upwards and he looked as the roof of the arena was almost completely closed. Darkness began to descend. “Do what you need to do. But be careful, please! I love you.”
Tesara was shooting daggers their way and trying to wrench free a gun from one of the stunned soldiers. “You heard the General! Kill them you imbeciles!”
But darkness enveloped them and the roof closed with a clink of finality. Drake could still see Ruby in front of him, but everyone else in this arena was blinded by darkness now.
“Don’t move,” he whispered, running a hand down her arm; partly to calm her and partly to assure himself that he wasn’t hallucinating this entire thing. “I’ll come back for you.” Drake brushed his lips against hers, wanting more, but wanting her safety above all else.
She offered the sword to him blindly, and he gently ran his fingers over hers as he took it.
“This changes nothing!” The General bellowed into the darkness. “I will still kill every last one of you Alium and Earth detractors. You will all bow before my sword! No one dares to defy the Da’Nesh. No one! Where is that Alium boy? Where is he? Has he run away like he did ten years ago when I killed his parents? Not worthy of leading a child let alone men. And where is his little whore Earth girl? Spill her blood first to parch my dry throat. I defy the prophecies! Of what great power could she possibly possess? The Da’Nesh are the true rulers of this world!”
The change happened so swiftly. Drake threw the sword on the ground, his eyes focusing in on his prey. The warrior in him roared to life, and the years of training took over like wildfire. Before he knew it he was charging at the General. Da’Nesh strength was just a façade. In reality it was just an old man standing behind a mask.
Drake did not need a ceremonial sword to get to the General. This task he could accomplish with his bare hands. He slammed into the old man, his hand wrapping around the wrinkly neck and slamming him into the ground.
“The only blood spilled today will be yours, General,” he snarled. “I’ve waited many years for this.”
He saw blood trickle from the side of General Da’Nesh’s crooked mouth. “So have I.”
A piercing scream sliced through Drake like a blade, knocking the air from his lungs. He felt pain. A horrible gut wrenching pain like he was dying.
Bewildered he looked up and saw Tesara standing over a crumpled body, a sword raised over her head in victory. She was looking around in utter darkness. “I have killed her, General! She is dead!”
The General died with a smile on his face. Drake snapped his neck in two, like a tree branch, and without a second thought he started running. Da’Nesh soldiers were firing blindly into the darkness, mostly hitting each other in their stupidity. The people in the stands, even though they couldn’t see in the darkness, were trying to fight the soldiers.
His fist impacted with Tesara’s stomach and the blade flew out of her hands and landed several yards away. He could practically smell her fear. She scraped the ground, clawing up chunks of grass as she attempted to flee.
Drake grasped an ankle and pulled her towards him, his fingers going to her throat. But his strength was waning. His hold couldn’t last. She kneed him in the side and fled. He had not the strength to chase after her. Which could only mean one thing - Ruby was hurt badly.
Ruby. He managed to get to her, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He hoisted her up against him and felt the warmth of blood run across his hands. A cry ripped from his soul and echoed across the field. Lights began to blink on, the Da’Nesh must have figured out how to turn them on. But he didn’t care. He could feel her pain. He could feel her fading away.
He could feel his own heart breaking.
“I’m not really sure what would be more painful for you,” Tesara said, lowering the sword to graze his neck. “Should I run you through and let you die side by side? So close yet so far. Or should I let the life drain from her and let her die in your arms knowing there is no way to stop it. And then you’ll live out your last hours completely helpless and alone? What do you think?”
Drake shook in anger, his mind tearing in a thousand different directions. He felt a cool hand on his and opened his eyes to find Ruby gazing back at him. She looked so frail. He spared a glimpse down to see that she was pressing something into his palm while Tesara stood over them to determine their fate.
His eyes widened at the realization of what it was. His fist curled around it, silently blessing his Beloved.
“I think I’ve decided,” Tesara said haughtily, raising the sword high. “I just want you to die.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Drake muttered, and then struck. Before Tesara could even bring down the fatal blow, she was dead. Drake shot up and sliced her throat clean through with Ruby’s dagger. Tesara fell to the ground, her ghostly white face frozen in shock.
The victory was short lived. Weakness drove him to his knees once more. Before he knew it he heard Zane and Kala’s voices around him. Then there were people poking and prodding Ruby, whose eyes were now closed with an eerie peace that shook Drake’s soul. He tried to keep them away, but didn’t have the strength to fight them.
“Peace, brother, peace!” Zane was holding him back. “They are healers of this world. We have sent our best with them also. They will help her. It will be all right.”
Drake watched as they put her on a cart and rushed her into a transportation vehicle much larger than the one they had rented to get to their cabin. It had loud sirens and lights and sped away as if there wasn’t a moment to spare.
“Take me to her,” Drake said through gritted teeth. He couldn’t bare the quietness he felt when away from her. For so many years he had longed for the quiet and isolation. Now it was his worst enemy.
It could mean that he’d lost her forever.