by Day Leitao
“Including the Tome of Darkness. What is it about?”
Dess tried to remember it. “There isn’t much. It’s short. It’s a story about when all the lights and all the fire go down. Then they fight with swords and arrows. I always thought it was about trusting yourself, not external things. Trust the real fire, the inner fire. Then they defeat the Master of Darkness and light comes back. It sounds boring, I know, but it’s different when you read it. Words get organized in a way that makes sense.”
“So you thought I was a Teren because of my bow and arrows?”
Dess decided to be honest. “No. It was something about you.”
She straightened and had eager eyes. “So you’ve seen Terens before.”
Dess looked down. “No. I had never seen one.” He was going to add “before you”, but decided to leave it, and asked, “And how come you know about Terens?”
She paused for a moment, as if considering it. “Similar to you. We talked about their traditions in the village where I grew up.”
“So you also had books.”
She ran her hands through her hair. “A few. People also told the stories orally and in songs. I never saw books about Terens outside my village.”
Dess shrugged. “Perhaps people want to hide them.”
“Or they’re the ones who want to hide.”
“And leave us in this mess, fighting each other, starving, dying.”
She rolled her eyes. “Kidnapping. Easy to blame others.” She stared at him. “I have a question for you.”
“What?”
“How many people do what you’re doing?”
“That’s confidential.”
She nodded. “Let me rephrase it. Do you know anything about Somersault?”
Her tone had been accusatory, and he felt anxious, but he had no idea what she was talking about. “We don’t know your base names.”
“Have you ever killed anyone?”
Dess hesitated, then said, “It’s a war, even if you pretend it isn’t, with the stupid truce. You wouldn't have hesitated in blowing me out of the air, and you know it.”
“The truce was meant for you to leave us alone!”
He snorted. “Without water? Kind of hard.”
“Oh.” She paused. “Still, why take people?”
“I can’t say any more.”
“I’ll explain. There was a base where everyone was killed. Was it you?”
Dess was surprised. “Everyone? No. No, no. We never—”
“So it must have been one of your colleagues.”
“No, we were the only ones…” He stopped, realizing he was saying too much, but then decided it didn’t matter. “We were the only ones getting that close to the bases. And it would make no sense whatsoever for us to kill everyone.”
“So what happened, then?”
“I don’t know. It wasn’t us. It wasn’t any Lunar.” He tried to think. Could it be that there was another team doing it? He couldn’t see Sophie and Tara killing anyone, and he knew that the military port wasn’t sending ships to the planet. It just didn’t make any sense. “We’re not interested in killing anyone, we just want access to the planet, and to the Tahari moon. That’s all. It’s not unreasonable.”
“Concede defeat and you get it all.”
Dess snorted. “Yeah. Then we’ll have to pay your planet more than we even produce just to access your resources.”
“Oh, yeah, that would be awful. Coming down, stealing, murdering and kidnapping is so much better.”
“I’m not your enemy, Saytera. It’s this war. We’d be friends had we been on the same side.”
“Except we aren’t.” She then entered the cave.
Dess rested his head on his hand.
Hunger was getting to Saytera. Going down to the beach could be an answer if she found something easy to kill and catch, like a crab, for example. Hopefully not a giant one. Here, on this hill, she was getting sick of mushrooms. Marcus slept in silence now. Instead of looking at his friend, Dess watched her in silence, his eyes no longer lined in black, all the painting gone with the tears from the night before.
She decided to ask, “What are you looking at?”
He blinked. “You.”
Saytera shivered. It was odd. He wasn’t staring at her the way Kay did, it was different, and unsettling for different reasons. She decided to change the subject and got up. “Listen, I’m starving and I’m going to the beach.”
He was in front of her. “Wait. I think he’ll wake up soon. If he’s at least conscious, we can leave him.”
Thunder rolled outside. “I’m not gonna wait for the storm.”
Dess held her wrist. “Too late. If you go out now you’ll come back drenched again.”
He was right. So many dark clouds in the sky. It was annoying. She shook her arm free, got back inside, and sat down on a corner. Dess sat by her. “Listen, I’m sorry. I can’t change what I’ve done. But we need to stick together to survive.”
“We’ve been sticking, haven’t we?” She glanced at Marcus. “And he’s going to make it.”
Dess nodded and smiled. “Tell me about the Terens. Tell me what you know.”
“I don’t really know much. I think you know more than I do. Who are they? Where are they from? What do they want?”
“What I know is that they’ve been around as long as humanity has, but tend to isolate themselves and focus on magic.”
Saytera almost corrected his mention of magic. But if she accepted it as just another name for matterweaving it started to make sense. What were words, anyway? “What about you? What do you do with the people you kidnap?”
“I don’t do anything. I just hand them over to the council.”
“What about the killings?” she asked.
“You said it was an entire base, right? That I can say with ninety-nine percent certainty that it has nothing to do with Lunars.”
“So who, then?”
He was thoughtful. “Internal enemies, maybe?”
“I don’t know.”
He looked away and shook his head. “See, we’re both losing. Is anyone winning anything in this war? There’s only pain and loss.”
Pain and loss. So much pain and loss, and yet, some of Saytera’s didn’t really relate to that specific war, but to something else. “Is everyone in your moon that knowledgeable about Terens?”
“Not that I know of. I know about them because I had the books and my parents told me about them. I don’t know anyone else who really, truly believes we’re capable of a greater power.”
“Doesn’t that make you the odd one out?”
“I’m an orphan. That makes me stand out enough already.”
“But you said your parents…”
“When I was a child. They died when I was eleven.”
“I’m sorry.” That didn’t help, she knew, but she didn’t know what else to say.
He shook his head. “It’s this war.”
“Shouldn’t more people be orphans, though?”
“They go to the orphanage, not the academy.”
“Hum. I guess we have more orphans then. Everyone I met in the academy didn’t have living parents.”
“There are lots of orphans in Sapphirlune, they’re just not part of its elite.”
“How fair.”
“So your parents are also dead?”
When asked about her parents, Saytera thought about Yansin and Kerely, and she didn’t think they had died. They’d just—abandoned her. Saytera held back a sob.
“Sorry,” Dess said. “You don’t have to talk about it.”
“No. My family died when I was a baby. I don’t know who they are.” That was true, too, even if it wasn’t something her mind went back to often.
He had a curious face. “And nobody knows who they are?”
Saytera just shook her head.
“No records, nothing?”
“Their ship crashed in the ocean.”
“How did you survive?
”
Saytera had heard this story a long time before. “My seat was ejectable and I ended up on the beach.”
“But you don’t remember it.”
“No. I don’t remember anything.”
“Have you ever considered that maybe someone knows who you are?”
“Why wouldn’t they tell me?”
He shrugged. “To protect you.”
All that destiny talk came back to Saytera. She remembered Vivian telling Yansin “you knew who she was.” Could it be? It was possible. But she didn’t want to think about that right then. She sighed. “I guess I’ll die not knowing, if we stay stuck on this island.”
He stared at her. “If it helps, I also don’t tell people who my parents were.”
“Why not?”
“My mother asked me not to. Before she died. They were killed. Whoever killed them could maybe come after me, too.”
“Why?”
He had a half smile. “You want me to tell you too much.”
“But nobody notices your name?”
“I got a fake name. I’m Dess Starspark.”
Saytera snorted. “And nobody notices it’s fake?”
“That it comes from the mind of an eleven-year-old? No.” He nodded towards Marcus. “Not even he knows.”
Saytera was puzzled. “Why are you telling me that?”
“Either we’ll die in this place and it won’t matter, or we’ll go separate ways and it won’t matter. Plus I haven’t told you my real name. And I also know your secret.”
A hint of fear flashed through her. “What secret?”
“You can disable electric systems.”
Saytera exhaled. She wasn’t sure what secret she was expecting him to know, but it wasn’t that. She waved a hand. “I told you I have no idea how that works.”
“But you don’t think it’s impossible, do you?”
All the pistols failing, lights turning off, even the blackouts in the academy, maybe… Maybe. Maybe he did know a secret about her. “Not impossible. Just unlikely.”
Dess smiled and shook his head, his dark hair bouncing. “I won’t tell anyone. I’ve always wanted to meet someone like you.”
Saytera froze. “Like what?”
“Who has real magic.”
Oh. That. “I can’t even conjure fire.”
Dess laughed. “You say it as if it were a normal thing to do.”
“For Terens it is.”
“In my books it says it’s a rare skill, but I’ll trust you on that. What else do you know?”
“Nothing.”
They then heard Marcus’s voice, “Dess.”
Saytera turned.
The young man was sitting up, alert, his face a healthy color again. “What’s happening?”
Dess filled him in on the accident, his spider bite, and where they were. Marcus ate some mushrooms. When the rain fell, he got some water from the edge of the cave to drink.
He looked at them. “Tomorrow, if there’s no storm, we have to go to the beach.”
“There’s no shelter there,” Dess replied.
“But they can’t land here. You know they’re coming for you. Nadia will send someone for you, Dess, you know it.”
“It’s hard to fly here.”
“The weather needs to clear, for sure. But they’re coming.”
Saytera felt a knot in her stomach fearing they’d take her as a hostage, to be sent who knew where.
“Maybe,” Dess answered, voice dry. He then turned to Saytera. “Whatever happens, I’ll keep my word.”
“Thanks,” her voice was thin.
It wasn’t that she doubted him, but that there would be more people, more Lunars, and she wasn’t sure how much he would be able to do.
A good thing that Marcus was conscious, but she wished she’d had more time with Dess, to talk about Terens and what he called magic. She realized that he was probably right that she had caused his ship to crash, and was stunned to realize that someone saw her power more clearly than even she did. An enemy. A lunar. And yet… Perhaps if there hadn’t been a war they could have been friends. No. They wouldn’t even have met each other. What was she even thinking?
Dess stared at her. “You don’t trust me?”
Saytera laughed. “Since when are we allies and trust each other?”
“A day at least.”
“Proof how things can change quickly.”
He shook his head. “You can’t put spilled water back in a bottle, though. Certain things cannot go back to the way they were. Maybe there is a reason we are here. I’ve always thought we had to win, but is it victory we need? Or is it peace?”
“I guess it depends. Aren’t we just cogs in a bigger machine? The question is what the machine needs.”
“But we need to question it. We don’t need to be cogs.”
“Oh, we can be castaways on an island,” she joked.
“That’s a possibility, too. But if we’re rescued, we won’t be the same. We can do things differently.”
“I guess.”
Saytera didn’t want to mention that she had zero chance of making any difference for Mainland. Maybe Dess, among the elite academy whatever, could do something. Saytera was just a nobody in a base nowhere, set up just for the appearance of security or for canon fodder.
The night came and Dess and Marcus managed to set up a fire. They also caught some sort of rodent and were roasting it, filling the cave with a putrid smell. Saytera wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to eat it, but was glad for the warmth in that damp, cool night, when she had no coat or jacket.
They passed the time talking about their childhoods. Marcus had grown up in a rich family. Dess said he had grown up in a mansion, raised by his grandfather, who was the gardener. Saytera knew he was lying, but didn’t say anything. When it was her turn, she mentioned her childhood in her “village”. Both Dess and Marcus had wide eyes when she told them about swimming in the ocean, catching crabs, shrimp, or fish. Neither of them had grown up near nature like that. When they started talking, she thought Marcus had been privileged, now she wasn’t sure. And growing up with Yansin, learning everything she did, had been a privilege. Of course she didn’t tell them about that, but still, it was in her thoughts, coloring her memories with sadness and yearning for a time long gone.
Saytera lay down with a half-empty belly. The floor was hard, but this time she at least had Dess’s jacket for cover. The crackling sound of the fire and the howling wind outside should lull her to sleep. But her mind was busy wondering if there would be any fire tomorrow or if some kind of rescue team would try to kidnap her for good. She wondered if she’d rather hide and stay on that island, but the thought of eternal loneliness somehow was even worse than the fear for her life.
19
Back to the Beach
Someone shook Dess’s shoulders. Marcus. He sat up and glanced at the fire. Oh, no. It was out. He should have kept it going, but sleep had taken him over. Hopefully they’d find a way to ignite it again tonight.
“We’d better move,” his friend said. “So we get to the beach and back before the storm.”
Dess sat up. “Quite insightful for someone who’s been out for two days. How do you even know when it rains?”
“Our conversation, silly.” He then lowered his voice and glanced at Saytera, who still slept, enveloped in his coat. “What do you want to do with her?”
“She saved your life.” Dess whispered. Then added, “And mine, too.”
“It’s just a question, Dess.”
“Well, if we keep living in this place, we keep helping each other, right?”
Marcos exhaled. “You know what I’m talking about.”
Dess chuckled. “Your commitment to hope is commendable. If we’re rescued, we’ll see.”
“No, you need to plan. And let me know what you’re planning.”
Perhaps Marcus had a good point. Well, yes, of course he did. It was just that Dess’s brain was still half asleep.
Then there was the fact that he had no idea who would come for them—if anyone came—and that could change a lot of factors.
A sound came from Saytera’s corner. She was sitting, long messy hair, and smiled at him. “Hey.”
There was something so casual, intimate about seeing her wake up, and she looked so natural, just… he couldn’t quite explain it. Dess wanted to see her wake up many more times. Well, he probably would. Somehow, the idea wasn’t depressing.
“Good morning,” Marcus said, snapping Dess out of his speechless trance. He continued, “We’d better get going.”
Saytera turned to Dess’s friend. “I see you healed well.”
Marcus shrugged. “I think I got enough sleep for a couple weeks.”
Saytera got up. “Let’s go. We can get something to eat there.”
She then handed Dess his coat. “Thank you.”
Her thanks was sweet, sincere, unlike her sharp takes from the first day.
He handed it back. “Keep it. It’s windy.” She just stared. He added, “It’s survival. I don’t want you… getting sick. I have long sleeves. I’m hot.”
She paused, then smiled and took it back. “Thanks.”
Looking into her eyes, Dess wanted to bask in that moment, pull her closer, kiss her. Yes, he wanted to kiss her. Like he’d never wanted to kiss anyone before. He’d scold himself for the audacity of the thought, for his presumption in thinking she could ever be his, except that it seemed as if she wanted it, too. The thought was overwhelming. Here was someone who was more than he’d ever dreamed, with real magic, a real Teren—and despite her denials he was sure of that. And her eyes were locked in his, beautiful and powerful. All for him.
“Yo, lovebirds,” Marcus’s voice. It was as if it broke an enchantment. She looked away. He continued, “Make out on the beach.”
Dess wanted to reply, but calling him an asshole, telling him he should have left him for dead, or denying anything sounded wrong. Maybe he was still speechless. Dess just glared at his friend. For the first time in his life, he wanted to punch Marcus on the face. Or maybe somewhere lower.
The walk down the hill had been so awkward that Saytera didn’t even register the time passing until they came upon the ocean with its roaring waves. Lovebirds. Yeah, she’d been gawking at Dess. Yeah, she wouldn’t mind making out with him. And she hated herself for that. That line of thought had only brought her pain, and falling for an enemy couldn’t be good. No, no. She wasn’t falling for him. It was just that the guy was good looking. More like outrageously good looking, and it was a normal reaction.
