by Day Leitao
“Yeah, sedate me. It won’t erase your guilt or the blood in your hands.”
The co-pilot was approaching her, syringe in his hand. She wished she could poke it in his eye. No, in that other guy’s eye. Those were dark thoughts.
The syringe never reached her neck, as the guy was pushed backward. The ship was being jolted again. So they hadn’t left the storm. Saytera felt a chill in her stomach, as the ship slowed down, then started accelerating again in the other direction; back to the planet.
The black-haired guy turned to her. “Stop what you’re doing. We’re going to crash!”
Indeed they were falling, but his words made no sense.
“She’s tied, Dess,” the co-pilot said.
The black-haired guy, Dess, didn’t seem to hear it. “Stop it.”
Saytera couldn’t believe him. “Are you insane?”
Dess turned around, trying switches. Everything was off, and hadn’t it been for the sun coming through the windows, they’d be immersed in darkness. If they were falling like that, it probably meant that the anti-gravity had failed, and since they hadn’t gained enough momentum to counteract the planet’s pull, they were being pulled back. Great. The one time her mechanics study had any use was just to tell her how screwed she was.
No idea why the guy had blamed her. None of this was her fault. The thought of being a hostage was way better than dying.
Their plummeting was slowed down in the storm cloud, where they were tossed like a leaf.
“What’s happening?” the co-pilot asked.
“Dead. It’s all dead.” Dess pressed buttons frantically.
“What about the emergency system?” the other guy asked.
“Dead. Get ready to eject.”
“We’ll lose the—”
“Ready, I said.” Dess let go of his seat belt and got up. “We have just a few seconds.” He was then opening Saytera’s restraints. “You’ll eject with me, but if you don’t want it, you’re welcome to be squashed on the sea.”
Saytera saw her pack with bow and arrows on the corner and reached for it.
Dess stared. “Do you happen to have a parachute in it?”
“No.” Reaching for it had been a reflex. What would she do with it in the ocean? Or dead?
Sun shone again on them as they left the storm cloud. There was green below them. Maybe they were above Mainland. Right. That would be even worse, as they’d be shot without warning.
“I’m gonna eject,” the co-pilot said.
“Wait. Not yet.” He then closed his eyes as his colleague’s seat was no longer on the ship. Wind came through the opening on top.
Dess sat down again, tied his seatbelt, then pulled Saytera. If she weren’t falling to her death she’d notice that she was sitting on a guy’s lap. Well, actually, she noticed it, even though she could be about to die, and wondered what it said about her. The guy didn’t seem to have noticed anything. His arms were tight holding her, and he murmured something, ending in what sounded like “Stars above, stars within.” Maybe she was the one thinking that. And hoping this fall didn’t lead to her death.
16
Enemies
Saytera was up in the air, being held only by an enemy’s arms, probably a Teren, to make matters even worse. Or momentarily better, if he could use his power to make sure they survived. He was murmuring something as they were plummeting quite fast towards a rocky shore. Then their speed slowed, as a parachute opened, but she still felt as if she were falling. Falling toward the rocky shore, then, to her relief, wind took them to a sandy beach. Beside them, the ship crashed on the rocks.
He said, “On three, jump. One, two, three.” He let her go.
No longer having his arms around her, Saytera was floating mid-air, until she saw sand coming fast in her direction, but rolled as she reached the ground, to avoid getting hurt. She was up soon, her right hand hurting—from clutching the pouch with her bow and arrows. Perhaps they would be useful. Further ahead, she saw the chair and the dark-haired guy falling. The rest of the ship was a bunch of pieces floating on the ocean around the rocks.
Saytera looked around. Mountains on one side, sea on the other. Could they be on the continent? Far from Cliffbound, since she didn’t recognize this place.
The immediate danger was the fallen enemy in front of her. Saytera approached him. He was lying on the ground, eyes closed. Breathing, though. She aimed an arrow at him.
He opened his eyes. “Really? You thought I was unconscious and you were going to kill me?”
“If you’re still breathing, I didn’t want to kill you.”
“Same here.” He sighed. “We’re even now. I saved your life.”
He had to be kidding. “You saved me? I’m the one who saved you, and you should have left me where you found me.”
“Shouldn’t have sabotaged my ship.”
“Still on that?” Saytera kept pointing an arrow at him.
He pulled a pistol from a baldrick and aimed it at her. “Let’s kill each other, then. So useful.” He put it back and closed his eyes, perhaps to annoy her, show her that he was not afraid.
Well, she wasn’t going to shoot him. Not from that distance, so she put back her arrow. His hair was so black it was almost as if it sucked the light from around him. He had eyes closed, as if relaxing on the beach. He was beautiful. Way better looking than anyone she’d ever seen outside the islands. Perhaps better looking even than people on the islands, like Cayo. His lined eyes made her shiver wondering if he was a Teren.
Saytera walked away from him as she tried to collect her thoughts. There wasn’t much he could do against her without his ship other than maybe kill her, but he didn’t seem interested in seeing her dead. Considering they were on the planet, if they were found, he was the one who’d be imprisoned. She sighed. If they were found.
“We’re on an island!” he yelled, drawing attention back to him, as if he’d been guessing her thoughts. He was standing up, now, walking in her direction.
That would be terrible. “You can’t be sure.”
“The instruments told me that. We’re far from the continent.”
“Weren’t all instruments dead? Since, you know, I jinxed them all and stuff?”
“Before you jinxed them.” He paused, eyes wide. “Is that what you did?”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you seriously accusing me of causing failure on your crappy ship?”
He glared. “It wasn’t crappy.”
So much drama for a stupid ship. True that it would have been their way out. To the moon, not very helpful to her.
“Listen.” He sighed. “We’re stranded. Being enemies is pointless now. We’ll have more chances of survival if we work together.”
It sounded sincere, but Saytera didn’t trust him. “You mean you’ll have more chances of survival, right?”
He paused, then crossed his arms. “Absolutely. You know the area more than I do.”
She wasn’t falling for his humble act. “I don’t care if you live or die.”
“I just don’t want to stumble on your dead body,” he yelled.
“Then watch your step.”
“I will.” He turned around and started walking away from her.
Great. Now she was stranded on an island forever. Suddenly all the anger she’d been managing for so long bubbled up. And if he was really a Teren, then he and his kind, whatever it was, were responsible for all the tragedy that had struck her. That had taken her friend. And now again her life was being ruined.
“Hey,” Saytera yelled. He turned and she ran to him. “It’s not okay. I was fine. I had a life, a goal, friends. You stole it all. You stole it and now my life is doomed. It’s over.”
“You did it yourself. I wouldn’t have hurt you. But no, let’s almost die. And kill Marcus. If he dies, it’s all your fault.”
How dare he talk about killing his friend? As if he weren’t going to take her away from her friends? As if he cared for anyone. Saytera kicked sand o
n his face. As he raised his hands to block it, she punched his stomach and kicked him between the legs. He grunted then pulled her towards him, stepped out of the way, then pushed her face down on the sand. She was about to get up, when she felt his weight over her. She wanted to struggle and throw more sand, punch him, but soon he grabbed both her wrists, held them down with one hand, and held her face with the other, while keeping the rest of her body down with his torso and legs.
Perhaps he was hoping that she’d whimper or ask him to let her go. She wasn’t going to do any of that. She asked, “Are you stupid enough to kill me?”
“You’re the one who started with the physical aggression, girl, now don’t play victim.”
“Not a victim. I win either way, since I stopped you from kidnapping and murdering people.” She wasn’t sure if he’d ever killed anyone, but it was very likely.
“True.” He then whispered in her ear, “And yet look who’s at whose mercy.”
His words sent a shiver down her spine and some weird feeling as if a spark had ignited in her with the awareness of his body over hers. That soon became terror when she understood that there were other ways he could hurt her other than killing her. Saytera tried to gather all her strength to break free, break her wrists free, push him away, but she couldn’t. She felt so powerless and weak. She had told herself she wouldn’t beg, and yet…
Saytera choked a sob. “Please. I saved your life.”
His hold loosened. “What are you talking…” He let her go. “Oh. No. No.”
She got up, turned around, and saw all the anger gone from his face. The color had gone too, his pale face shocked.
“I’d never… You can’t possibly think—” He sounded horrified.
She looked away. “I wasn’t thinking anything.”
“You’re trembling. Afraid of me.”
That was true. “You immobilized and threatened me. What did you expect?”
“You punched and kicked me. I didn’t hurt you. And I didn’t mean to scare you. You can’t possibly think I’d ever…”
Saytera looked away. He did sound like he’d never hurt her, but still… “I don’t know you. You’re my enemy.”
“I’m not. It’s just you and me. And my friend, if we reach him. There’s no war here.”
Saytera felt a little silly. But his whisper was still in her ear.
He continued, “It’s true what I said, you know more about the area than I do. And we can watch each other’s backs. I’ll do my best to protect you, even if I might be the one needing help the most. I’m sorry if I scared you.”
He stared at her, his eyes so dark and beseeching. She looked away. “Don’t kidnap people.”
The guy looked at the mountain, then back at her. “Listen, I think my friend needs help as soon as possible. You could help me a lot. I’m asking.”
For a moment she felt for him, since he was so worried about his friend. But she had to remember they were enemies. “What do I gain with that?’
“Mutual protection. We don’t know how long we’ll stay here.”
Saytera didn’t think he meant to harm her, at least not immediately, but she had to gain something with that. She sighed. “Promise me that if people come and rescue you, you won’t take me with you.”
He was surprised. “You’ll want to stay here?”
Was he that dense? “On the planet.”
He hesitated, then said, “Sure. If I’m rescued, I’ll leave you on the planet. Just help me find Marcus.”
She shrugged. “Let’s find your friend, then.”
Dess had never been so offended in his life. To think that even for a brief second, the girl thought he would do something against her will. The only reason he didn’t say what he felt about it was that she was truly afraid. All he’d wanted was to calm her down. Maybe shake off some of her defiance. It had been in self defense, after all. But then, he had kidnapped her. And who knew what lies people spread about Lunars?
It still hurt. She couldn’t look at him and possibly think he’d ever need to do something so despicable. Maybe it was just that they were enemies.
He looked at the green mountain in front of them. “We need a path to the mountain.”
“If it’s an island, depending on the size, we’ll do better walking around it.”
That made a lot of sense, except Dess didn’t really think Marcus was on the other side. “I think he’s up in the mountain. We’ll need a trail there.”
She nodded. “That can work, too.” Her tone was still cold and distant.
Well, at least she wasn’t staring at him in fear. She wasn’t staring at all, in fact, just walking in front of him. Her uniform was different; it ended in a skirt. Huge long hair flowing, bow and arrows on her back, she looked as if she’d just stepped out from one of the legends he so loved. Yeah, legends. Like legends of people who could interfere with electrical circuits on a spaceship. What an idiot he’d been by bringing her when he’d noticed there was something odd about her.
His thoughts then turned to Marcus. He’d ejected too soon, when they were above that mountain. Maybe it had been a good idea, maybe he’d had enough time to slow his descent, maybe. He tried to reach his friend’s comm and got nothing.
Dess had a weird feeling that his friend was in danger, and it tugged his heart. Knowledge without facts, just that inner knowing, feeling… He trusted it, even if that knowledge told her that the girl had caused electrical failure on his ship and disabled the antigravity, and now that he thought about it, it didn’t make that much sense. Yes, in theory, some Terens could affect electrical systems, but that was in theory only, and what were the odds that a Teren would be volunteering in the shore defenses of an isolated planet? And to disable a spaceship like that? Too much power. But then, his logical mind found no explanation either, and the result was just puzzlement.
The day was still ahead of him, but he’d probably have to walk for hours to find Marcus. Then they needed shelter. Some luck that Dess wasn’t hurt. That ejection mechanism hadn’t been built to support two people ejecting that late, but they’d managed it and had been lucky enough to land on sand. They’d better keep their luck.
The breeze was cool and the weather was cloudy, and the girl had just a sleeveless uniform. Maybe he could try to bring her to his side.
He asked, “Aren’t you cold?”
She turned and looked him up and down. “Aren’t you hot?”
Ain’t I? crossed his mind, but that was obviously not what she meant. He did have a long coat, but it wasn’t too warm. “No, but I can lend you my coat.”
“I’m fine.”
He then noticed that she only had her bow and arrows for weapons. Who knew what they were going to face?
He took the cracker pistol and reached it out to her. “Take it.”
She should have been surprised, grateful, or something. After all, it was an enemy handing over his weapon. But no, the girl shuddered and looked at it in horror. “I’m fine. And I don’t even have a place to carry it.”
Dess shrugged and put the pistol back in its holder. If she didn’t want to defend herself, her loss. He’d offered it as a gesture of goodwill, but apparently the girl completely missed its significance.
He was going to remain quiet about her refusal, but then decided not to. “Fine, then, if we’re attacked, you’ll have to manage with your arrows.”
She stopped and turned, looking at him as if seizing him up. “And you think it’s a problem?”
He shrugged again. “By all means not at all, if that’s what makes you happy.”
“You don’t use arrows, then,” she said more as a realization than anything.
Strange. “Should I?”
She tilted her head. “And you’ve never seen anyone using arrows.” Again she was trying to figure out something.
“Well, I must confess, archery is not really a thing in Sapphirlune.” She still stared. He then added, “But I did read stories with it.” He remembered a quote
that he liked. “When darkness falls, arrows still pierce. Is that what it is?”
She looked startled. “Where does that saying come from?”
“The Tome of Darkness. Do you know that?”
She stepped back. “Tome?”
“Yeah, I have some rare books. Listen, maybe we should introduce ourselves. I’m Dess.”
She just stared. “Are you a Teren?”
Weird. She didn’t seem to be joking or anything. “You think Terens hang out in backwater planet moons and get involved in their squibbles?”
“Are you?” she insisted.
Dess snorted. “I’m flattered you think so. I’m also flattered you assume
I wouldn’t lie if that was the case.”
“What were you doing near our base?”
“Tourism. Not sure you realize it, we don’t have beaches on our moon.”
She frowned. “If you want me to help you find your friend, answer my questions.”
“You already agreed you’ll help me. Are you going to go back on your word now? And you haven’t even told me your name.”
“Saytera.” She looked at him as if waiting for a reaction.
“Nice to meet you.” He extended his hand.
She slapped his hand. “Nice my ass. You kidnapped me. It’s your fault we’re here.”
“You sabotaged my ship!”
She rolled her eyes. “How exactly? Care to explain?”
That was a good question, and yet he knew it had been her, knew it—and then all of a sudden everything fit into place. The arrows, her skirt, her very long hair, something about her energy, even something about her name. He stared at her. “Are you a Teren?”
She rolled her eyes. “You have a wild imagination.”
That was a non-answer. He was getting to something. “Yeah, I do. Wild things in my mind. But thinking you’re a Teren is not one of them.”
Saytera stared at him for a moment. “If I brought down your ship, I don’t regret it.”
“No reason to regret, right? This is a lovely island to raise our grandchildren.”
