by B. T. Narro
She wasn’t any bigger than Siki, but there was no doubt in Andar’s mind that this woman could probably win a bout against most others, man or creature. She held her ground with grace and aggression, as if looking forward confidently to her next fight.
She was beautiful in a harsh, scary way. She looked half wild.
“Andar,” Andar said as he pointed to himself. Then he pointed to her as he cocked his head in question.
She pointed to herself. “Pylees” was what he heard for her name, though he wasn’t sure he got it.
“Py-lees?” he tried.
She nodded. “Pylees.” Then she pointed at him. “Andar.”
He nodded and offered his hand. She shook it, her palm as rough as the surface of a rock.
Siki stood and pointed at herself. “Sirah.” She offered her hand.
It made sense to give a false name. Perhaps barbarians had heard of the Meplr family and would want to use the princess for ransom.
Pylees shook Siki’s hand but didn’t seem interested in her as she looked at Andar again. He didn’t know what she was wondering as she gazed up and down his body. He turned and grabbed some of the dried meat.
“Mmmm,” he said and rubbed his stomach. He lowered his head in gratitude.
When he lifted it, he was startled to see Pylees stepping very close to him. She wrapped her hand around the back of his head and pulled him down toward her.
There was just a blink of time to realize she was kissing him. He was too shocked to do anything about it as she planted her lips on his. She forced a kiss between them, her lips moving in a way that made his join hers. Or perhaps it was instinct that made him return the kiss. He would never know.
She parted with a coy smile. Pylees walked over to the bed, looking back as if expecting him to follow. When he did not, she gestured for him to come.
All Andar could do was stand there with a gaping mouth of shock.
He looked over at Siki. “Help?”
“What am I supposed to do!”
The woman looked a little irritated as she walked back over and took Andar’s hand. He resisted her, looking at Siki in desperation for her to think of something. Pylees must’ve taken Andar’s looks toward Siki in the wrong way, for soon she went over and took Siki’s hand while still holding Andar’s. Then she pulled both of them toward the bed.
“No, no,” Siki said with a nervous laugh. She pulled her hand out of the woman’s grasp and shook both palms.
Andar did the same.
The woman became angry as she bumped into Siki’s shoulder on her way toward her stairway. She looked back from the stairs and grumbled something while pointing at the bed. Then she went to the second floor, where Andar heard her stomping around some more.
He sat and returned his attention to the last of their meat, bread, and water.
Siki seemed too stunned to eat. “We need to get out of here.”
“Right after we finish.” He gestured at the food.
She swept the last of it into a cloth, then bundled it up. “Now let’s go.”
Andar nodded. “Right.”
They crept over to the door and opened it slowly. It creaked loudly, forcing Andar to open it the rest of the way quickly so they could dart out. He nearly ran into a summoned beast that resembled a bear, only bigger. It growled at him as it reared up on its hind legs. He fell backward to avoid it swiping at him, then got to his feet as he prepared a link to stop it from charging them.
But the creature did not enter the home. It stood outside the doorway, clearly guarding it.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Pylees uttered from the stairs, her arms folded. She walked over to the open door, petted the creature, then shut and locked it this time. She pointed at the bed. Andar and Siki reluctantly went over to it. Pylees watched them until they both lay down. Then she returned to the second floor.
The bed was large enough for Andar and Siki not to brush up against each other, but there was only a single pillow.
“I guess we’re spending the night here,” Andar said as he handed her the pillow.
“What do you think Pylees wants with us?” Siki said as she positioned the pillow but remained sitting up.
“Well, I know what she wants with me,” he said. “But in addition to that, I have no idea.”
“Could you use Artistry to aid our escape?” Siki asked.
The windows were too small for them to fit through, so the only way out was past the large creature. “I’m not sure I can link that summoned to anything in our realm to stop it from ripping us apart. I could link its legs together to keep it from moving, but it would still be in our way. It would slow us enough for Pylees, and possibly more barbarians, to catch us. Our best chance of escape is after they let us out, in the open. They don’t know what I can do. It should be easy to get away.”
He listened to her quick breaths for a little while. He was inclined to reach over and take her hand as they both sat up in the large bed, but he thought better of it.
“They did feed us,” he said. “No one would feed something they plan to murder.”
“Unless to fatten it up first,” Siki said.
Andar swallowed air as he thought of being cooked and eaten. “Do barbarians eat people?” he whispered with dread.
“I don’t know.”
◆◆◆
Andar couldn’t get to sleep. Not only was he trying to figure out something he could do to prevent their potential demise, but Siki’s rustles and small breaths in the night reminded him of the beauty that was just beside him. Never had such sounds stirred his heart. He wanted to protect her no matter the risk to his own life, but why was that? Would she do the same for him?
Perhaps. He really wasn’t sure. Well, that question had better be answered, or they could face real trouble if a decision had to be made in a blink.
He planned to discuss it in the morning, but she turned to face him. He waited for her to say something, but she didn’t speak a word.
“Can’t sleep?” he asked.
“No.”
“I can’t, either.” He turned on his side to face her and whispered, “Siki, we need to decide something before it’s too late.”
“What?”
“I will not leave this place without you, no matter the risk. I will endanger both of us if it means saving you. And I don’t just mean saving your life. I’m not going to let anything happen to you if I can help it.”
He felt better saying it, though the feeling started to turn sour as she laid beside him in silence.
Eventually she turned onto her back. “Thank you, Andar. I will do the same for you.”
“Well,” he specified. “You don’t have to save me from you know, if you think the act will keep us safe.”
She laughed softly. “I figured.”
Andar finally felt himself falling asleep soon after that.
In the morning, the woman was gone. Andar and Siki searched both floors of the small house and found a few useful things for their survival, but stealing from Pylees was a risk they didn’t want to take, yet.
There was only one thing Andar felt safe enough to grab. Pylees had a large quantity of clear glass shards in a drawer. He took the sharpest one he could find and pocketed it.
There was a different yet equally large and terrifying creature guarding the door when Andar tried to leave. With no weapons except the small piece of glass, Andar did not want to try to fight his way around the beast.
They used their time to come up with a story that would explain why they were in this town, in case they ever got the chance to tell it.
They didn’t have to wait long for Pylees to return. She brought an old barbarian man with her. He had a tattoo down his neck that seemed at least a little more peaceful, given the blue color and the fact the coiled symbol did not resemble a weapon.
“I speak some common tongue,” said the man to Andar’s immense relief. “Do you understand me?” He had a very strong accent, but he spoke slowly and con
fidently.
“Yes! Skyfire and ash,” Andar said excitedly. “Where are we exactly?”
“Who are you?”
Andar waited in hopes of his question being answered, but the man just repeated himself more forcefully this time.
“Who. Are. You?”
“I am Andar and this is Siki. We came here accidentally from Aathon.”
“You are human and she is Analyte.”
It wasn’t a question, so Andar waited.
“Why you here…together?”
He and Siki had decided that morning that they would be safe if they were worth a ransom. At least then they would be kept alive and unmolested, most likely. So the truth was ideal. The alternative was to lie and find a way out of this town, but it was unlikely for these barbarians to let Andar and Siki leave freely. Even then, they would have to fend for themselves with no weapon, no water skin, and frankly no means to make a shelter unless they figured out a way. Remaining with the barbarians, so long as they were safe here, was the best option for now.
“Princess Siki Meplr is the daughter of the Analyte king, Dasfis Meplr.” He let the old man tell this to Pylees, who strangely showed no reaction to the news. Andar continued, “We are married. I come from a wealthy and powerful family as well.” This detail was to prevent unwanted advances. Hopefully, even barbarians were less likely to do something to a woman with her husband right there.
The barbarian woman showed some disappointment at this news, but she nodded and said something to the old man as she gestured, looking to be telling him to continue.
“How did you come here?”
“Through a rift.”
“A rift?”
Andar furrowed his brow. He’d hoped the old man would know this word.
It took considerable time, but eventually Andar helped the man understand not only what a rift was, but that there was a growing one in Siki’s land and Andar had been trying to help destroy it. A failed test had brought him here in a smaller rift. Now he must wait for his brother to make another before he and Siki could return.
“But if you can take us back,” Andar said, “our fathers will pay you gold.”
The old man spoke with Pylees for quite some time.
“You know how to destroy growing rift?” the man asked.
“Yes,” Andar said. But then he began to wonder why they cared about this.
“How?” the old man asked.
“By entering it and finding the source of Esitry in our realm.” At seeing the man’s confusion, Andar spoke more simply. “I go into the rift and destroy the thing that gives it power.”
“Impossible.”
“Not impossible. Do you have a growing rift here?”
“Yes. You destroy it.”
“I need my brother,” Andar said. “If you take us back, unharmed, then we will destroy the rift there before we come here and destroy this one.”
The old man translated for Pylees. They broke out in laughter.
“You lie,” the old man said. “You know we have rift. Trick us.”
“It is not a lie!” Andar insisted. He might’ve been shocked to find out there was a rift here is Disetel also, if he wasn’t closely watching the old man and woman for sudden movements.
“You lie and lie. Will not destroy any rift.” The old man gestured at Siki. “Not married.”
“We are married,” Siki said. “And there is a rift. Andar will destroy it, and my family will pay you.”
“How many gold?”
“A hundred,” Siki said, “but only if you do not harm us.”
The old man translated for the barbarian woman. They seemed displeased about something as they spoke. The conversation went on far too long for Andar’s liking. It seemed like they were plotting something.
He thought of taking Siki’s hand and making a run for it, but Pylees had drawn her dagger by then and looked ready to use it. There was no other heavy metal in sight in case Andar needed to link the weapon to something.
Pylees opened her door and called out. Four large men ducked to keep from hitting their heads on their way in.
“You will be put in a cage,” the old man explained. “We will free you if you listen.”
Andar did not believe the man. He was about to start linking limbs when a dagger pressed against his throat from behind. Pylees put her mouth near his ear.
“Die if run. Die if fight.”
Skyfire and ash, she knows some common tongue.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Andar and Siki were put in separate cages. These metal enclosures seemed to be meant for animals, for they were too low for either of them to stand. The barbarians had tied Andar’s hands together while many of them aimed an assortment of sharp weapons at him. They’d followed by tying a rope around his ankles and then doing the same to Siki’s limbs.
Siki had shouted repeatedly, demanding to know what would be done with them. Eventually, the barbarians must’ve gotten annoyed, for one of them struck her in the stomach. Andar had cursed the man in anger, but then he, too, had been hit while unable to defend himself.
Well, he could’ve done something with Artistry to retaliate, but that would’ve just revealed his skill with the clear energy, and he and Siki would still be tied up and surrounded.
Each cage had a lock to it. Andar had watched the old man turn the key that fit both locks and put it in his pocket. He stayed close by, making Andar wonder if he might be able to move the key over with a link. These ropes binding his limbs were a major problem, though.
Barbarians called out to one another and soon had gathered a large crowd. There were about twenty of them, most of them women. It seemed strange that more hadn’t come to at least see the foreigners. Was there a reason the rest of the town stayed away? It didn’t seem like figuring out the mystery would help them escape, though, so Andar focused instead on what could.
“Siki,” he whispered. She looked over at him. “Don’t look,” he said. “Just listen.”
They both watched the crowd discuss something as many shot looks toward them.
“I’m going to link one fiber of your hand-rope to my entire hand-rope. When I pull, I should break that one fiber. Then I’ll link another fiber to my rope. Don’t draw attention to yourself.”
“Good, I won’t.”
Andar focused on Siki’s rope intently for a breath, catching sight of the individual strands that made up the constraint. He played innocent as he watched the crowd again. They had formed a circle, an audience of sorts, and two men took the center. Neither had a weapon, though it looked as if they would fight as they sized each other up.
By the time one had thrown the first punch, Andar had broken many of Siki’s rope fibers. The hardest part was picking out another that still held the rope together. He had to look over and find the next one each time.
The fight was over quickly, a strong punch sending one man to the ground. He was still conscious, appearing more angry than hurt. He walked off to join the others as another man took his place.
The barbarians wore little clothing in this heat. All the men had removed their shirts. Their shoulders and chests put Andar to shame. They were much older and looked as if they’d spent their whole lives building and using their bulging muscles. The women covered their upper bodies, but with small shirts that exposed more skin than they covered. Andar found Pylees among the many women. She was not the biggest, but she looked the most focused as she stared at each of her potential rivals.
Eventually, she glanced over at Andar. He stopped linking for the moment and gave her his meanest stare. She smirked at him and kissed the air, an insult to his dignity.
Her attention was diverted as another man claimed victory by throwing his opponent to the ground. None of these men seemed to be incredibly skilled fighters, but skyfire and ash they were large. A couple of them would only have to fall on Andar while he tried to escape, and he’d never make it out.
He went back to pulling apart one thread of Siki’s r
ope at a time, but quickly the frayed strands were starting to show as they hung.
“Think you can pull the rope apart when it’s time?” he whispered. The old man was still close, probably responsible for guarding them, but he must’ve trusted the cages would keep Andar and Siki contained, for he spent most of the time watching the bouts.
“I’m not sure,” she said. “But start ripping my other rope now.” She repositioned herself to move her ankles closer to his view. Andar checked to see many of the men watching Siki, but the hungry look in their eyes made it clear that they only cared about one thing. They hopefully weren’t paying attention to her ropes.
Even more eyes were on Andar. The women often sneered at him. Some even pointed as they spoke among each other, giving a laugh at times. Others blew kisses and bit their lips in exaggerated expressions of lust. At least Andar figured they were exaggerated. He’d never seen a woman look at him like that seriously.
Andar quickly broke the rope fibers around Siki’s ankles. Another man had fallen. There weren’t many left. The old man turned to check on Siki. Andar feared he would see the frayed rope, so he spoke to distract the old man.
“Where are the rest of the people in your village?”
The old man turned to Andar. “They go to human land.”
“Why?”
He had a devilish grin. “To take it.”
“How many of them left?” Andar asked, not worried about a couple hundred barbarians invading right now. They would be dealt with by the twenty-five thousand troops who had remained there while the others went to the rift.
“Thousands,” said the old man. “Many thousands.”
“You lie,” Andar accused.
The old man lifted his arms as if to indicate a great expanse of land. “We gather from all of Disetel. We go boat over water. We arrive already. We take many towns. Your army weak. They left.”
Skyfire and ash, he really means that.
