My cheeks turn red as heat spreads through them. I stare silently at my empty tray, trying to avoid the faces of the people around me. My stomach rumbles again, louder than before in a desperate attempt to embarrass me further. A few people chuckle in response. Groaning I lean forward, putting my face in my hands. I have survived the Cerebi just to die from humiliation.
A movement from nearby catches my attention, and a nearly full tray slides into view. I pull my face from my hands to see Lexa's hand retreating from the dish now in front of me.
“Eat,” Lexa commands.
The whole table is totally silent, watching our interaction.
I look at Lexa’s green eyes. I'm sure refusal will be seen as rude. “Are you sure?”
Lexa nods and pushes the tray closer. “You are hungry and healing.”
“Thank you.”
Lexa nods once more, and I pick up my spoon, forcing myself to eat at a more respectable pace than before.
The atmosphere around the table relaxes as everyone returns to their food and talks to their neighbors, occasionally sending a glance my way. Probably to make sure I haven’t eaten the trays too.
After I have finished my second helping, Lexa leads me back into the labyrinth of corridors. “The bathrooms are near the room you were treated in. We are lucky there is a natural spring there, and the water flows freely. It is clean but cool. There are tubs if you wish for a hot bath, but you must haul and heat your own water.”
I nod; that seems fair. Lexa leads me into the room, and I see the promised spring. There are four baths all with some sort of privacy curtain, made of what I suspect is a skin of some kind. At the back of the room, in a hearth, sits an orange crystal with smooth glossy edges.
Lexa steps into the room beside me and gestures at the hip high gem. “We don’t have the resources to use wood for fire, as we have few ways of acquiring it. This is another one of those crystals I told you about. It produces heat. Take care not to touch it. It will burn you.”
“Do you have many of these crystals?” I ask.
Lexa nods. “We are fortunate enough to have elders here that remember the old ways, some of them have the gift to imbue the crystals themselves, but we discourage it as it comes with a cost to their health. Others we have recovered.”
I make my way to the spring and Lexa helps me to collect water in buckets. “You mean people here can do magic?”
“Not everybody has the gift and the people who do have a weakened form. From the stories I have heard the gift was once quite powerful.”
Lexa speaks of gifted people as if they appear regularly. “Why have I never met someone who is gifted?”
Lexa looks at me. “If you had control over thousands of beings, and that control came from your twisted use of the gift, would you allow it to grow in others?”
It takes me a moment to comprehend her words. “Darkmor kills them.”
“Yes. The gifted either hide their secret well, or they die.”
I haul another two buckets over to the gem and place them beside it. I am surprised by its warmth. Even with Lexa's explanation, I am still bewildered that a crystal can give off so much heat. I hold my hands out in front of it and warm them. I don’t get too close, from this distance I can feel the intense heat and the danger that comes with it. “Do you have to do anything to it to keep it hot?”
Lexa drops two other buckets beside the gem. “No. Once a crystal is imbued with magic it will serve the intended purpose until it is destroyed.”
I return to the pool and haul a few buckets of cold water over to the tub. “How do you know so much?”
Lexa takes buckets over to her own tub. “Our recovery efforts are not just limited to crystals.”
I wait, but she offers nothing further. Curiosity burns inside me, but I know she has already answered a lot of my questions, and I am aware of how little I have given in return.
“Is there anything you wish to know from me?”
Lexa pauses and ponders the question. “How did you escape?”
“I told the guards I wanted to train. I tricked my guard into leaving me unattended and escaped through a small hole in the fence. I was spotted by a guard on patrol and pursued. The rest you know.”
Lexa is quick to fire another question. “What prompted you to leave?”
I want to say the treatment, but that had been happening every day since I was captured, and I had never made an attempt to escape before now. I look away from her, and at the floor, my mouth pulls into a tight line.
I resolve that a portion of truth is the best course of action. I do my best to keep my voice from wavering, “My mother went for a review and didn’t come back.”
Lexa pauses and gives me a look of genuine remorse. “I’m sorry, Claire.”
I nod but keep my silence, the pain of losing my mother and the torment she must be going through prickles at my eyes. I am worried my voice will betray me.
Lexa clears her throat and points to a bench. “You will find soaps over there. We make what we can from meat fats and plants that grow around here.”
I make my way over to the soaps. There are two bowls of waxy flakes to choose from, one purple, and one green. I sniff the container of green soap, and the overbearing scent floods my nose. I sneeze and quickly put it back on the bench. I reach for the purple flakes and take a smaller more hesitant sniff. The floral scent of this one is less overpowering. I'm not a fan of either, but I take a pinch of purple flakes and head back to the metal tub. I sprinkle it in and collect my buckets from the hearth, and lug them over to the bath. Lexa has already drawn the privacy screen around her tub, and soft splashing can be heard on the other side.
I pour the steaming water into the tub and mix in buckets of cold water until I find a pleasant temperature. I pull the screen shut and carefully pull my armor and clothes off my aching body. I remove the necklace from the makeshift pocket in my shorts and drape it around my neck. I don’t think anyone will try to take it from me here.
I climb into the tub and have my first ever hot bath. I happily scrub myself clean with a cloth I found on the small stone bench beside the tub. I hold my hand out to the light and marve lat how bright my skin has become. It is strange to see it without any trace of dirt or grime. I lean back in the tub with a sigh. The steam rises up around me in great billows, twisting and dancing in the breeze. My mother would have loved this. I bite my lip to quiet a sob that threatens to break free at the thought of my mother. What are they doing to her? I let out a soft sob, and the prickle of tears finally flow free.
The bath water has cooled when I finally climb out. A cloth is thrown over my privacy screen. “Dry yourself with this,” Lexa says in a quiet voice.
I take the cloth and use it to dry myself before I quickly dress. I ensure my necklace is tucked under my armor and hidden from sight before I draw back the privacy screen. Lexa is sitting with her feet dipped into the spring, quietly chatting with a group of women. I look back at my bath water, and I'm appalled at how dark it is. Had I truly been carrying around all that? I look at the filthy tub water—where I am supposed to empty it? I walk around the tub inspecting it, and my foot slips into a divot. This channel runs under each of the bathtubs and out through a hole in the wall. I pull out the tub's plug and watch as the water splashes out into the channel and out through the hole.
I return my buckets to the pile. I debate what to do with the drying cloth when I spot Lexa washing hers in the bubbling spring. I take mine over and do my best to mimic Lexa's actions, and when she rises to hang hers on a line, I follow her.
Lexa corrects the way I hang my cloth. “How was your bath?”
I get the feeling there is a hidden meaning in her question. “I feel better after it.”
She nods to me and bids farewell to the women. “I will take you to the room that has been assigned to you.”
I follow her out the corridor, and we walk in silence. We turn down a familiar corridor and a long droning sound screams in the
air around us. Not a minute passes before another siren joins it, and they screech their awful song together. I look around, searching for the source of the sound as it echoes throughout the hall. The rise and fall of the sirens brings everyone to a standstill.
People around me respond to the siren before I can even figure out where it is coming from. Individuals group up and hurry down the hall. Many draw weapons, others shout orders, and within a few seconds, a line of people quietly hasten down the corridor.
Their actions seem well practiced. Surely Lexa must know what is happening. I look at the woman next to me, glancing over her stiff posture and rigid muscles. A sinking sensation builds in my stomach.
Something tells me, this is not a drill.
Chapter Seven
This is not a drill.
Lexa freezes, takes hold of my arm and drags me back into the rooms we just passed. I cast a quick look around, and recognize the bed and the table. It is the room I recovered in.
“There has been a security breach.” Lexa says as draws her sword from the sheath on her back and stands in a battle ready stance. “Grab your gear.”
The whole movement is so smooth and elegant I can’t help but stare in awe. I’m sure if I tried to do that, I would cut off my ear. I have never pulled a weapon from a sheath before, all my weapons had always been handed to me bare. After a moment of appreciation, I remember I’m supposed to be collecting my gear. I rush over to my pack, stuff everything in it and cast a quick glance around the room. I wish I had my weapons, but it can’t be helped.
Lexa throws me silent glances, urging me to hurry. I fling my backpack across my shoulders and rush over to her. She raises her finger to her lips, and I quiet my breathing and movements. Lexa peers down the hall. Every one of her actions has a purpose, and I doubt she is the type to waste energy on something she doesn’t believe is a genuine threat.
Weariness seeps through me as the poison acid from the Cerebi reminds me why I was bed ridden for so many days. I shake my head to clear the fog settling there.
Lexa steps out the doorway and runs down the empty corridor. I follow close on her heels. We run past dozens of rooms, and I peer into them as we sprint by. They are all empty. Half-finished tasks left where owners left them in their hasty departure. I catch glimpses of steaming mugs and fallen chairs. Dread builds in the pit of my stomach, and I don’t even know what I’m running from.
We approach an intersection, and Lexa stops so suddenly I catapult right into the back of her. Receiving a face full of curly brown hair, I stumble over my own feet and windmill my arms around trying to regain my balance. Lexa's hand darts out and grabs a fistful of my shirt and stops me from falling on my backside. I scrabble to regain my footing while Lexa effortlessly holds me up. It’s like holding a grown woman with one arm is a task she does on a regular basis.
My cheeks grow hot. I’m a gladiator and a pretty good one too. But the way this woman conducts herself makes me look no more graceful than a child learning to walk. I stare at my shirt fisted in Lexa's hand as she holds me still. I glance up to see her tilted head and quiet, measured breaths.
I get the hint and breathe as quietly as I can. Scratching comes from around the corner. Wet rips of tearing flesh travel to my ears and sincerely make me doubt I want to know what’s going on around the corner.
Lexa, on the other hand, is going to find out. She inches towards the edge, closer to the sound and whatever is making it. I barely suppress a groan as I follow her. We peer around the corner. A giant creature stands above the still body of a woman, its many faced appendages ripping into her flesh. I crinkle my nose, and my mouth gapes at the horrific sight. Many thick tentacles grow off a larger face, each of them consisting of a large mouth and tiny yellow eyes. I count six in total, all of them behaving like the woman’s flesh is a meal just for them. I swallow and focus on the woman, her blue eyes stare lifelessly towards us, accusing us of not saving her.
The creature lets out a bellow that shakes the ground around our feet. An answering cry is heard in the distance and the two rumble together for a time. The creature returns its scaled bronze head to its victim, and its long turquoise crest of spikes scrape the wall as it angles its head into a more efficient position. One of the horns is jagged and half the size of the others surrounding it. What could have snapped something that thick? The beasts tiny black eyes are nested at the base of a squished snout and keeps watch while the mini heads eat.
We lean back and glance at one another. We have no hope of outrunning the beast. It is massive, and with the help of well-muscled legs, the creature will easily catch us if we try to run. How did something that big get inside the compound? It barely fits in the hallway, I don’t see it crawling into such a small space out of curiosity.
I do not relish the idea of a fight with the creature, but Lexa’s clenched jaw leave no questions about what she is thinking. Going back isn’t an option. That means we will have to fight it, and I don’t much like the idea. To slay it would require finding a way through the glinting armor of scales that cover the beast’s entire body.
That isn’t going to be easy.
Lexa ushers me back the way we had come, and we creep a short distance from the creature. “We have to stop it.”
“How? That thing is a moving wall of armor,” I whisper back.
“We can’t let it get to the evacuation points, it could do serious damage.”
I have to agree, and at the rate it is devouring its current victim it won’t be distracted for too much longer. I look at Lexa, and the resolve in her face tells me she is going to do this with or without me.
I fidget with my bag. “Okay, but I will need a weapon.”
Lexa nods and draws a second sword from the sheath on her back. Two swords, that’s an unusual specialty. She offers the sword to me, and I take it and move it around experimentally. It is light and well balanced. I swallow and meet Lexa's questioning gaze. I nod, and we creep back to the wall. Lexa takes a deep breath and holds up four fingers.
Three, I grip my sword and brace myself to run.
Two, I take in a deep breath and my heart thuds painfully in my chest.
One, I try not to think about what will happen if we can’t defeat the beast.
Lexa and I lock eyes for a moment, and the last finger lowers. Together we charge forward, weapons ready. The beast raises its massive head and stares at us as if we are the intruders. It lets out a low rumble. The tiny heads stop devouring the poor woman on the floor and gape at us. Bits of flesh still hang from their jaws, as small yellow eyes assess the threat.
The giant animal lets out a bellow and charges towards us. The hallway is narrow, and the beast takes up most of the room. Its horns scrape the dirt walls with each bound the creature makes.
I rush forward and slide under the creature, trying to pierce through the scales on its stomach. To my surprise, my sword creates a series of sparks that ignite along the scales as I slide past. I hadn’t even left a scratch on it.
The creature charges over me, kicking up dust as it goes. Ignoring me like I’m not even there. I roll in the dirt in time to see Lexa jump onto the beasts head.
She lifts her sword and drops her body with it, attempting to bury her blade in the creatures head. But her sword just bounces harmlessly off the scales with a loud clang.
Unlike me though, the beast actually notices Lexa and shakes its head from side to side in an attempt to dislodge its unwelcome rider. Lexa loses her sword and scrabbles to her feet, crouching low as she holds onto the beast’s horns as it attempts to displace her pushing her dangerously close to the ceiling. Thick horns dig into the corridors solid dirt wall. Chunks of earth rain on us as they fly around the hall.
The smaller heads join in the fight, snapping at her legs and ankles. Lexa is forced to remove a hand from the stabilizing horns and draw the dagger at her hip so she can fight the tiny heads off.
Lexa can’t keep this up for long. Before I can talk myself out of it, I ch
arge towards the beast. I throw myself under its body and wriggle forward doing my best to avoid the stamping feet and flying chunks of dirt. I push myself out and come to a stop below the creatures head.
This time it notices me. Its black eyes turn to ogle me, and it stops shaking its head to focus on me for a moment, trying to figure out where I had come from.
A tiny severed head lands in the dirt near my head with a sickening thud, its lifeless yellow eyes staring at me. Its bloodied mouth gapes open in a silent scream. The severed stump reveals softer scales across the mutilated appendage, almost as if they are new and hadn’t had a chance to harden yet.
The giant beast lets out a mighty bellow, and I scramble to get out from under it. It shakes its head, thrashing from side to side, tearing holes in the walls with its crest. The thrashing frees Lexa's grip and she slips and is pinned to the wall in between two massive horns. The broken horn I noticed earlier pokes dangerously close to Lexa's sternum. Its wickedly jagged edge inching closer and closer. Her feet scrabble for purchase against the beasts head, and she pushes herself as far away from the spike as the wall will allow her.
I grab a fist full of dirt and throw it into the beast’s eyes. It bellows, and I have a front row seat to the inside of the massive mouth lined with fist-sized teeth. I thrust the sword upwards with all my strength piercing its soft pallet. My sword sinks to the hilt in the beast’s brain, and I twist the blade ensuring its end is quick.
I stare at my arm surrounded by jagged teeth and try not to think about what would happen if the giant mouth closed.
I pull the sword from the mouth of the beast and step back as the creature crumples. Lexa is still trapped within the massive horns that are embedded in the wall behind her. The way the monster is going down is causing deep cracks to spread along the wall like a web. I watch in horror as the wall breaks into chunks and cracks sprawl across the roof. They spread faster than water rushing down a smooth hill. The beast is going down, and it’s going to take the wall and Lexa with it.
Shadowsoul Page 7
