Escaping El Dorado

by Helen Scott

  "I'll tell you if you call off your guard dogs," I said, though my voice was strained from the grip on my throat.

  It was only a few moments later when they finally relented. They hadn't done any damage which was just as well or I would have to kick their asses just to show them who held the upper hand. I reined the impulse in. That kind of behavior wouldn't help Tessa.

  When I was allowed to stand up and look at them all, I had to fight the shock I felt when I looked into a face so similar to my own. It was eerie and I wasn't sure what it meant, and at that moment I didn't care, not until I'd explained what was going on. After that I could be weirded out by my doppelganger as much as I wanted.

  "How do you know who Tessa is?" the Atlantean asked.

  "I found her unconscious in a field."

  "You're the one that took her!" the doppelganger hissed.

  "And you're the one that couldn't keep up, I assume?"

  He sneered at me then. "You try flying after not being able to use your wings for years."

  I couldn't even imagine that if I was honest with myself. Flying was a part of who I was. I did it every day without fail. I'd even had to use the excuse with Tessa that I was doing an extended perimeter check just so I wouldn't feel bad leaving her on the ground, not that I ever let her out of my sight, but still. Was this what origin world warriors went through though? He'd effectively had his wings clipped so he could look for the Key, which was now locked in a dungeon. "I would prefer to get off the road. We need to have a long, complicated conversation, but I swear to you that I am on your side. I want you to help me rescue Tessa."

  "Rescue? What in the name of Gaia does she need rescuing from?" the Agarthan cried out. His eyes were wild with panic and it flowed off him in waves that made me feel like I was suffocating.

  "Please, try not to draw attention to us, or we will all be executed for being traitors to the realm," I hissed before I turned and walked away.

  There was a large rock formation down the side of the slope. It would provide adequate distance from the road without attracting too much attention while still allowing us to talk privately, if they could keep their tempers in check that is. I had to fight the sigh that wanted to escape me. They were clearly a unit and yet so many times in Tessa's head she'd seen me working with them. The idea had appealed to me, more than I would ever admit to anyone, and yet seeing them now I knew it was a futile hope.

  I waited at the bottom of the structure, giving them the high ground as a gesture of trust. When they finally all took their places around the various rocks, I noticed that most of them could see multiple angles of approach as though I'd had people waiting down here to ambush them. At least they were using their brains now though.

  "So you took Tessa and then what?" The Atlantean crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke, clearly skeptical of any of the words that were about to leave my mouth.

  "When she woke up I realized who and what she was and we made the trip, on horseback, to the capitol where she met with the queen. Unfortunately, we were tricked. After I was dismissed Tessa was taken to the bastille and is being held in a cell there. I don't know why or what happened between her and the queen after I left, all I know is that she yelled to me that I needed to keep my promise. There was true fear in her voice and I... I can't leave her there, not when I promised her it would be safe."

  "Why did you leave her with the queen in the first place?" the El Doradian demanded.

  "I didn't have a choice. I was dismissed and told to return to my duties, and instead I came here looking for you when, by rights, I should be about a hundred miles to the west with my battalion."

  "What did she make you promise?" the doppelganger asked.

  "That I rescue her if the meeting with the queen went south."

  "And instead you came running to us?"

  "What choice did I have? Take on all the palace guards and end up in an oubliette?"

  "What's an oubliette?" the Agarthan asked.

  "A hole in the ground for you to be forgotten about. It's worse than the cells. It would make them look like a palace." I ground the words out through my clenched teeth as I took another deep breath.

  "You wouldn't have been put in an oubliette. You would have just been executed," the doppelganger said.

  "I'm a member of the queen's guard, a commander of her army. I think I would get a little more than just a standard execution."

  "You're leading the army that's executing people for rebellious thoughts?" the doppelganger demanded, anger giving his voice a cold quality.

  "No, we are investigating the murders that have been done in the queen's name. She doesn't want people executed. Well, at least I didn't think so until this happened and the orders I found."

  "What orders?" the hot head asked.

  "While we were riding to the capitol Tessa tried to run away and stole my horse but ended up running into a skirmish that was in progress. I found orders that came from the queen on each of the bodies on each side of the skirmish. The orders were contradictory."

  The doppelganger let out a low whistle at that information. "It's been a while since I've been in Hyperborea, but aren't the queen's orders impossible to fake?"

  "Supposed to be."

  "That's what I thought. Remind me who you are again? What's your name exactly?" the doppelganger asked.

  "Commander Casimir Niall Scirocco, call me Niall, and you are?" I asked as I raised my eyebrow at a man who could pass for me in a pinch.

  "origin world Enforcer and Infiltrator Dresden Cain. You said Casimir?" Dresden's voice changed and he sounded almost strangled.

  When I nodded he replied, "That was my father's name."

  11

  Dresden

  The man I was looking at was similar enough to be my brother, and now I find out that he has my father's name? That's too much of a coincidence even for me, and I was part of the team that not only had found the Key, but stabilized Atlantis. Add to that Tessa being in trouble and I felt like I was being stretched too thin.

  "Who are you parents?" I asked before I could stop myself. Sure, we could most likely both read each other's minds but it was a matter of respect, and growing up in Hyperborea, I learned not to listen unless I needed to. Most people's inner dialog washed over me like white noise unless they were very good at projecting, like Tessa.

  "I don't know. I was found and adopted by a couple when I was young but I had no memories from my life before that. Would the rest of you mind introducing yourselves, or should I just find out your names for myself?" he asked, seeming eager to change the subject.

  My teammates went around and introduced themselves while my mind worked. The pack I was carrying had the few items I'd taken from my parents’ house and while they talked I tuned them out and rifled through it searching for one specific photo. When my finger slipped over the glossy paper I felt a tingle race up my hand and arm. As I pulled it out, I looked at the man across from me.

  There were differences. Of course the primary one was the scar that ran along one side of his face, but he'd also broken his nose a few times and had more freckles than I did. His eyes were maybe a shade or two lighter than mine, but overall the differences were hard to spot unless someone was looking for them. It was unsettling to say the least.

  After staring at him for way too long I looked down at the photo. The two boys standing there with their hands over each other’s shoulders couldn't be anything except brothers. When I looked closely enough I could see freckles on the face next to the child version of my own.

  "Would someone else look at this for a moment? I need to know if I'm going crazy or not," I said, completely interrupting whatever was going on.

  Kai stood from where he had been perched and came over, worry creasing his brow. When he crouched down next to me I shoved the photo into his hand and meaningfully glanced over at the commander. My friend's eyes swung up and down again and again looking at the man in front of us and then at me.

  "Why don't y
ou go by your first name?" I asked feeling as though the world was spinning out of control around me.

  "It doesn't feel like me. It's more like it belongs to someone else." He shrugged.

  "Is that the name your adoptive parents gave you?"

  "No, they told me I had it when they found me."

  "Is Scirocco their family name?"

  His eyes narrowed at me. "It is. Why are you obsessed with my name?"

  Kai stood and handed Niall the photo without even glancing at me. When I spluttered some strangled noise my friend just looked at me and said, "I think he's got a right to know, don't you?"

  Niall looked between the two of us for a moment before looking down at the photo in his hand. When he did a stillness overtook him and other than his chest rising and falling he didn't move. It was like he had been stunned down to the very core of his being. "That's me," he whispered quietly before looking up at me with wild eyes.

  "How do you know?" I asked.

  "How do you know it's you?" he countered.

  He had a point. The two children in the photo looked remarkably similar, and I knew that the one on the right was me, just as he knew the one on the left was him. I reached out to him mentally. Do these people look familiar to you? I asked before I pulled up a memory of my parents in my head.

  It was my tenth birthday, just before I was called to training. My powers had been growing stronger and stronger every day and as soon as they reached a certain point my parents seemed to know that there was no going back. That was the only birthday party I'd ever had and looking back on it now it wasn't really a party, just a nice meal with my parents and a present, which I'd never had before.

  My hand went to the piece of crystal that hung on a leather cord around my neck. I had been told that it was alexandrite and also that it was black opal. In all honesty it didn't matter what it was, just that my parents had given it to me. It was the only thing I'd kept from my childhood, from before I began training.

  I shook the feelings away and focused on different images of my parents. I had conflicted feelings about whether or not I wanted to have Niall recognize my parents or not. So far I wasn't sensing any kind of recognition from him, but he could also be exceptionally good at hiding his thoughts. It had been years since I'd spent any significant time around people from Hyperborea, for all I knew there could be new shielding techniques that I hadn't heard about.

  There aren't. Niall's voice echoed in my head. But it appears you forgot what little shielding you did know since you're projecting almost as much as Tessa did.

  Does. As much as Tessa does. She's not dead!

  He sighed dramatically. I didn't mean to imply that she was, Brother.

  Brother? You think the photo is of the two of us then?

  I do. As I said before I have no idea where I come from, but I see those freckles in the mirror every day. I know my own face when I'm looking at it, even if it is a little different now. He gestured to the scar as he spoke.

  If we are brothers why don't I remember you?

  I have no idea. I don't remember you either, so it seems like both of our memories have been tampered with.

  "Can you guys talk aloud? This is just weird to watch," Kai said next to me. Jealousy was flowing off him. We were like brothers, had been since we all began training together, but he and I were close in the same way Finn and Griff were close. I got the sense that he didn't want anyone to ruin the dynamic we had going on, but he might not have a choice in that.

  "Sorry, it's habit," Niall said.

  "So you've got these orders that are suspicious? Why can't they be faked?" Finn said, jumping in before Kai could let his temper get the better of him.

  "The royal family has a marker added to their blood when they are born. It turns the blood blue, literally. So when the queen issues an edict or orders, there is a spot of blue blood placed in the corner as well as her signature and embossed seal. Faking the signature is possible, faking the seal might be possible, but faking the blood? Not possible."

  "They couldn't just use a blue dye?" Finn asked.

  "No. It's not like that," Niall said, seeming frustrated.

  "It's like kind of like mercury on the origin world. There is an almost metallic quality to it. I've never seen anything like it before or since," I added, backing Niall up.

  "Honestly, I don't give a shit about the orders, or about the fact that you two are clearly brothers. I want to know how to get my mate out of prison," Griff said, his voice strained as though he was barely holding on.

  "That is going to be difficult. We can't just waltz in there. The last time I was at the palace there were guards everywhere and the queen was the only one who spoke or smiled. She was a charming old lady, but it was clear that if I even breathed incorrectly they'd take me down," I said.

  "Old lady? You haven't been home since the new queen took over have you?" Niall asked.

  "New queen? What happened to Queen Ulrika?" I asked. If she had died then I should have been called home for the funeral, all of the Hyperborean operatives should have been.

  "No one knows. She was just missing one day and her daughter, Ailsa, took over being queen with the support of the founding families."

  If I hadn't been sitting down I would have needed to. "None of the priestesses saw it coming?"

  "All the priestesses have been in seclusion for over a decade. No one has been able to reach them."

  "What? How?" I demanded.

  "They broke the stairs and attack anyone who tries to fly high enough to get to their temple. They've completely cut themselves off from society."

  I blew out a hard breath. This day was just getting weirder and weirder.

  "Back to Tessa?" Griff's voice sounded even thinner than before as though he was going to lose his temper at any moment. One thing we could not afford was for him to go into a rage. That would give Queen Ailsa all the opportunity she needed to execute all of us.

  "We can get her out. I know a few guards that work the bastille, but it's not going to be easy, and we can't all go."

  "I have to go," Griff said.

  "I agree," I said, not wanting to push Griff past his breaking point.

  "But he's--" Niall began.

  "He's her mate. He will be an asset and get her out of there even if it costs him his life, right, Griff?" I confirmed.

  The El Doradian warrior nodded. His mouth was set in a line that spoke volumes as to how serious this was for him. He was usually the jokester of our rag tag group, but not now. Not when it was his mate who was in trouble.

  It made me wonder what I would be like if I ever found someone I cared for as deeply as he did for Tessa. Would I get wound up at just the thought of her being in trouble? Would I move mountains and travel to far off lands to rescue her? The answer could only be yes since I was willing to do those things for Tessa already.

  You care for her, that's okay, Niall said in my mind.

  I'm not in love with her though.

  Not yet. There is something about her that is irresistible though. Don't you agree?

  I thought about when I had asked her to come over for dinner. We had cooked for her, tried to make her feel at home, but I screwed it up. My stunted emotional development left me longing to connect but instead of having a normal conversation I ended up interrogating her, even though I knew it would have the opposite of my desired effect.

  Maybe you were trying to drive her off, to keep her at arm’s length. Niall's voice came again.

  The other man had a point. It was what I had done with everyone I had met while we were on the origin world. No one was allowed close to me because of the fear that I would discover something about them I didn't want to know, or worse, accidentally let slip something I wasn't supposed to know just because they were all so damn good at projecting.

  It half made me wonder if the people of ancient Hyperborea had forced the separation from the origin world so that they could get some peace. I could only imagine what it would be like to be a
round people like that all the time with no escape. It would have driven the people with talents like ours mad.

  "Come on, we need to get moving," Niall said aloud.

  I had no doubts he'd heard everything I had been thinking and likely would be able to until I could figure out how to shut my mind down once more. It had never been a strong talent of mine though, so I wasn't hopeful that it would change. My only real hope was that it would allow me to project more easily into Tessa's mind when we were close enough. I knew we had a connection, like a piece of string being stretched between our minds. I had been able to feel it for a while now, but I wasn't sure what it meant, and part of me was terrified to find out.

  We started walking toward the capitol, the way we had been heading before we gained an extra member. I glanced over at Niall. The man might be my brother, that still wasn't clear, but the one thing I did know was that he was our only hope of saving Tessa.

  12

  Tessa

  The cell was made of stone that was freezing cold. The only thing keeping me even the slightest bit warm was the dress that I was wearing, and that wasn't exactly a nice winter parka. I knew if they left me down here for long I would be screwed, probably get hypothermia or something.

  If the cold wasn't bad enough I could barely see anything. There were holes in the top of the bricks that let fresh air in, along with the cold, but none of them were enough for light to fill the space, for it to be visible. Instead all I could see from the light that came through the holes was all the spiderwebs on the ceiling and between the bars of the cell. I had to suppress a shudder whenever I thought about it.

  A small squeak drew my attention to the floor and as I sat on the edge of the small cot that was in the cell, I felt a mouse or rat scurry over my feet. It's tiny paws and claws scratching me as it went. A yelp escaped me in surprise and a voice quickly hushed me.

  "Make too much noise and they'll beat you for it," the voice said.