Twenty Seven
I hated the box. Too much like a coffin. In fact, it probably would be my coffin one day.
They did it on purpose, waking us up before the tubes were open. They never admitted it, but they got off on our fear, their power over us. At least Xade did. He didn’t even bother hiding his glee.
I glanced over at the nearest E’mani typing on his crystal tablet. That damn crystal, nearly impenetrable, unbreakable. I craned to see what he was tapping. There were numbers and colors. At the bottom, various boxes glowed. Red, blue, red, green, yellow, orange. If you hit the wrong sequence, it would be a bad thing. I’d woken up in pain often enough to know that.
I repeated it over and over. I needed to remember that. I couldn’t let them make me forget. Not again. I lost too much every time. The days were blurring. I needed to remember.
Red, blue, red, green, yellow, orange. And I was free.
I shuddered.
Red, blue, red, green, yellow, orange. Which one was his? My hand splayed across the desk, seven different sets of information. The one on the end had the highest numbers. He was the only one who moved in the tubes, fighting even in sleep. Those were his readings.
I pressed red, blue, red, green, yellow, orange, fingers flying. First the big guy, then the rest, all for one, one for all.
For a second or two there was no change in their vitals. Until the last one went wild. The numbers tripled then flat-lined. The same process occurred down the row over the next few minutes.
I turned to face the stairs. The crew was quiet behind me. I heard Jace shift on his feet.
A tap from the door went ignored.
“Uh, should we go check on them?” Hana asked.
Jace’s “No,” was instinctive. He twined his arms around her in a band.
I tentatively started for the steps, Zanth hovering right behind me. I glanced back at the door and had to stifle a chuckle. The winged men were plastered to the surface, mouths open and steaming up the glass like children at a toy store.
We got to the stairway.
Zanth restrained me and entered first. He preceded me down the steps. At the bottom, we both hesitated. I heard scrambling outside the exit.
The doors opened as I approached.
Seven men stood in the hallway, at attention, stark naked.
Huh.
Zanth covered my eyes with his hands. Ha, like I’d never seen a bare-assed man before. Didn’t he mention last night? I slapped his hand away.
As one unit, the men turned and stared at us.
I remembered doing this, taking up the eighth spot, standing there, vulnerable, weak. Sometimes naked, sometimes in the shivat. Cool, slick fear tightened my stomach.
I peeked from behind Zanth’s hand. And whoa. Those were some well-built males. I didn’t realize I said it out loud until Zanth’s smack upside my head registered. I turned and gave him the beady eye. When I looked back, I swear the dudes hadn’t even blinked.
No wait, the one near the end was a woman. Flat-chested, a scar crossed her left eye socket. There’d been damage done to the orbit. The color was pure white on that side, not like the E’mani’s. In fact, it wasn’t an eye at all. It looked like the rock that made up the desks. The other was real though and a clear crystal green, so bright I imagined rolling in a meadow. Lank blonde stubble covered her head. She was so delicate, almost doll-like in the smoothness of her skin and small stature. That impression was only belied by her scars and the searing hatred in her eye. A name whispered to me. Erin. How did I confuse her for a male?
They all remained motionless, staring at me. Was I like that once?
The feathered one cocked his head, I heard whistling that like the language of the Fost echoed, the dubbing effect subtle. “Elizabeth. What would they have us do?”
“Huh.”
Zanth smacked the back of my head. My eyes flashed up. I was not peeking at his junk, honest.
I turned and punched Zanth hard, right where the bicep hit his tricep. He flinched back.
“Who are you?” I asked the winged dude.
“Rael, but you know this,” he replied.
“I don’t know much of anything anymore.” His head cocked the other way. He turned to face me. A smile broke across his features. He seemed genuinely glad to see me. I tucked my hair behind my ear.
All the bright colors contrasted with his rough skin. The feathers fanned down his chest, yellow at the base of his wings, then blending outwards. The golden hue darkened to red, orange, green, blue and ended at black tips. White coated his underbelly. Braids ran through his hair. Scars covered his abs. One caught my eye near his neck. I fought the urge to reach out and touch the wound.
A knife darted toward my face. The hand holding it was covered in black feathers. I dodged back and flicked out my own sword, up and to the right. It sliced through the still air toward his left shoulder. I felt a tug and a thunk.
My blade sunk deep into the muscle. Pieces of his fluttery hair fell to the ground. Blood dripped down his chest. I followed the path with my eyes.
I’d done that.
Holy shit.
Clapping sounded behind us. “Good, Elizabeth, your first hit.”
I shook myself and curled my fingers.
“Beta, what would they have us do?” asked another of the men. Other than Rael and Erin, they all kept their heads down, their eyes on the floor.
“They aren’t here,” I answered.
At that, everyone’s heads rose. “You kill them?”
“Not yet,” I intoned.
We all smiled identical smiles.
Zanth stepped back. I’d managed to scare him. How about that?
We stood looking at each other for a bit. It seemed the go to response for awkward situations when you didn’t know what to do.
“Um, you can put clothes on if you’d like,” I said.
Erin and the men went back into their rooms to get dressed. Rael remained focused on me.
“You should go dress,” Zanth added.
“Clothing is irrelevant. I still heal all injuries appropriately.”
“Don’t want to protect the goods?” I waved my hand down to his nether regions.
He shrugged. “With my rate of healing, I should be fine. Now we should talk about how to kill the E’mani, Beta.”
“Yes.”
A thud sounded overhead. Zanth’s gaze rose. He looked askance at me.
“Go,” I muttered. “I am fine.”
“I will protect her,” Rael said as he stepped closer, wings fanning out.
Zanth ascended to the top of the steps as I watched. An uncomfortable silence fell.
I turned back and Rael was right in front of me. My head tilted way, way back.
“Do you require anything of me now?”
I glanced down automatically. He was still naked after all. “Um, not right now. You should put on some clothes, you will be warmer.” I backed up to the bottom of the stairs and took one step up. All the feathers were distracting me.
Rael cocked his head again, a racial trait maybe. He pivoted and went back to his room and came out a second later with the shivat on. The rest of the group had filed out, dressed in the E’mani uniform, stiff and silent in the hallway.
“Come with me,” I said. The trip back to the desk felt longer than the trip down. When we exited the stairway, Jace nudged Hana behind him, watching us come down the corridor. His face tightened. Those damn uniforms brought back bad memories.
Zanth loitered between the desk and the exit.
Quick as a shot, Rael moved around me and went to the door.
“Wait,” I shouted.
The men outside swarmed forward when the entry opened. The winged dudes embraced, the shrill whistles of the language floated to me. I couldn’t make out the words, they were too far away. Zanth glared at me and gestured to the men. I threw my hands up.
What the hell did he expect me to do, how was I supposed to stop him? Maybe we should have thought of that before we showed them the way out.
Hana plastered herself to Jace and Zanth held up the corner glaring at us all. The men remained quiet, watching. Rael swung around to me, moving in uncomfortably close.
“My people are nearby. They have engaged the enemy and are fighting a few leagues from here. I am not at optimal levels having been in the tube too long. I will not fight at this time,” he announced. “We should all go to where you are staying.” He put his hand on my shoulder.
“Are we interrupting something?” Marin stood at the entrance, eyes blazing. Finn and Zara flanked him. Others ghosted in the background. It was dark out or the weather made it appear that way.
I stepped back. Rael frowned down at me as I did so, his hands dropping to his sides. He pivoted to stare at Marin.
Marin strode in, grabbed my hand, and pulled me into the corner near Zanth. “What is all this?”
“I don’t know but the enemy of our enemy is our friend, right?” I said.
“These people were all held here with Beta. The big guy likes her, but I do not think in a sexual way. He also clearly hates the E’mani and claims there are others nearby fighting them. We have both studied the histories. I think they are Avaresh. They could be a help,” Zanth summarized.
Marin turned his eyes to me a second, then back to Zanth. “They seek the end of the E’mani? We shall see. They stay here though. They are not welcome in town.” This was addressed to me as if he felt I was going to argue.
I lifted my shoulders. “Okay.”
Marin turned back to scan the rest of the room. The men stood at attention in precise rows in the middle. Rael was the only one who appeared at ease. He stood near the door with his three friends. Everybody studied Marin.
“We welcome any help in the fight. But we have to see to the safety of our town. We will need to make accommodations ready. For now, it might be best to stay here,” Marin declared in a decisive tone.
Erin moaned, her eyes glued to the floor.
I wouldn’t want to sleep here another night either.
I tugged on his hand still holding mine. “Can we bring them supplies? They can sleep outside. I’m pretty sure they don’t want to be inside anymore.”
Marin nodded.
Marin insisted I travel with him. He left Jace, Zanth and Zara as guards. I gathered up food while Hana got blankets. I tucked my hair behind my ear as I grabbed more fruit for my bag from the center table.
How did I know Rael? Obviously we had been close at some point, friends even. He’d trained me. How come I didn’t remember? Like Zanth said, he liked me, but not in that way. Yet when I saw him, it made me smile.
“What are you thinking?”
I turned and blinked at Marin. “Nothing.”
“Beta?”
I went quiet. No way was I telling him I was thinking about Rael, even in a non-lustful way. “Remember our last snowball fight?”
Marin narrowed his eyes. “Yes, you used magic. That was not fair.”
I smirked. “You hit me first.”
He grinned. “Yes, but you cheated.”
“You like it when I cheat.”
“I like it when you cheat by distracting me with sex.” He moved and leaned his forehead against mine.
“Oh really.” I ran my hand down his cheek. We smiled at each other, our ease with each other somewhat restored.
I opened my mouth.
Zara rushed in and threw herself into Marin’s arms. He staggered under her weight.
What the hell was she doing here?
“Oh Marin,” she said and kissed him.
His hands gripped her shoulders. He pushed her away with a glare. Holy shit. Like that was it? I booked to the door with my bag. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw him whispering to her. Damn him.
I searched out Hana.
“Time to go back.”
Wise woman that she was, she didn’t comment on my tears. We were halfway down the path when Marin joined us. He brushed my lower back and I walked faster.