Angst Box Set 2

by David Pedersen

  Gentle like a boulder, he thought.

  “That’s what you’re sorry for?” he said pointedly. “When will we get to wherever we’re going? I feel like I should hop off and push.”

  “By nightfall, if we don’t stop again,” she answered sullenly. “You’re small. It’s hard to tell in the snow, but we’re moving faster than you think.”

  “You promise everyone is alive?” he asked.

  “Faeoris woke up outside the cave and flew off,” she said, licking her lips.

  “Oooh, that’s not good,” he said darkly. “For you.”

  “What do you want from me?” The words poured out in a desperate plea. “We’re being killed off! If you can’t save us, my people will die.”

  “So will my friends,” he said. “So will Victoria.”

  “There’s time,” she said, choking on her words. “Angst, there’s still time to save your princess.”

  “There’d better be, or I’ll destroy everyone in Nordruaut,” he said firmly. “Except you.”

  She nodded, sniffling now. Was she crying? He hadn’t even known she could produce tears.

  “Did Jintorich know?” he asked. “Or did you lie to him too?”

  “He did not know,” she said, now sobbing.

  “He would’ve been so disappointed in you,” Angst said.

  She looked at him as if he’d pierced her heart. Maarja rushed away in tears, a bundle still held tightly in her arms.

  45

  Enurthen

  “He’s been in there for days!” Hector said, unable to completely keep the whine out of his voice.

  “He’s been in there for hours,” Rose replied snappily.

  “Close enough,” Hector said. “How long is this going to take?”

  “Let’s see,” Rose began. “He’s reconstructing an unknown language from one word and then finding the right spell to set us free. It will take more than a few hours.”

  “Knowing Dallow, probably more than a few libraries,” Hector said with a sigh. “Hopefully it’ll be easier without the dagger nearby.”

  Alloria made several muttered whimpering sounds. She was bound like a sack of potatoes and gagged with a small towel. Her eyes were wide with panic as she struggled against her restraints. There were a lot of them. Hector had offered to help tie her, as he was familiar with knots, but Rose had stared him down. Too many bindings and one set of sheets later, Alloria looked more like a mummified corpse than a beautiful young princess. Impractical, but effective. It was like Rose didn’t trust her or something.

  “She’s awake.” Hector said. “Thanks for not killing her.”

  “The bitch said she couldn’t die anyway,” Rose said with a sharp glare. “I’d still like to try.”

  “You’re more than welcome to,” he said with a nod toward the bound woman. “Once we’re out of here. She’s only good to us as long as she holds that half a foci.”

  Tears welled in Alloria’s large eyes. Was it from the death threat or just the thought of leaving Enurthen? Had she really tried killing Dallow and Rose just to stay here? Maybe there was a way they could leave her behind. She’d already been through so much.

  “How is it she’s even able to hold the dagger?” Hector asked, nudging the bulge with a toe.

  “Dallow has theories he’d be glad to share with you in great detail,” Rose said with a patient sigh. “In short, either that crazy bald guy did something to her, like when he tried forcing Chryslaenor to bond with me. Or Dallow thinks she may’ve had some latent magic ability.”

  “I wonder what?” Hector asked.

  “She seems gifted at lying,” Rose said.

  “Oh, she’s gifted,” Hector said with raised eyebrows.

  “Boobs aren’t magic,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  “I completely disagree,” he said, his tone light.

  “You sound like Angst,” she said, giving him the barest of smiles. “Making inappropriate jokes at the worst times.”

  “Boobs are no joking matter,” Hector continued.

  Rose whacked him in the arm, and then leaned against him for a hug. Hector held her close, and she broke into a sob against his tunic. He could relate, all too well. In spite of all his close calls and brushes with death, he’d never walked away without some sort of emotional reaction. Laughter, anger, hope...he even remembered longing for sex (that had only happened once). It was as if the body reacted to death’s cold touch with the need for as much life as possible. He understood her sobs, even more than she did, so the two people who hated hugging the most held on for long moments.

  “I was thinking of Angst when I said that,” he explained. “Not only because he loves boobs, but even when I hated it, I needed his humor.”

  She nodded, her head still on his chest. “Don’t tell him, but I miss him.”

  “Me too,” Hector said, nodding in agreement.

  “Do you think he’s okay?” Rose asked, finally pulling away.

  “Probably surrounded by beautiful women,” he said with a smile, “as determined to impress them as he is to save us.”

  She snorted while dabbing at her eyes. “He’s probably replaced me already.”

  “Don’t believe that for a second,” Hector said.

  “But, that Berfemmian...” her voice trailed off.

  “Faeoris? She’s perfect,” he said then quickly moved on past her glare. “But, that’s the thing about Angst. He’s had beautiful girlfriends all his life. Nobody really gets it, but neither does he. It just happens. Anyway, a lot of them move on. They get married, or move away, or they realize he can only give so much and just give up. I’ve seen him practically grieve over some, and then, somehow, he meets another beautiful young woman and is happy again. It’s sort of sad, and kind of funny, and very Angst.”

  “See,” she said darkly, shoving him away. “He’s going to move on.”

  “No, you don’t see,” Hector said, his tone fatherly. “If you don’t leave him, he’ll never leave you.”

  Rose’s thin brows furrowed in thought, one cheek curled up in a half smile.

  “I found it!” Dallow said excitedly from the library entrance.

  “Finally,” Hector said, rushing over to his friend and taking an arm. “We can get out of here!”

  “No, not that. Not yet.” Dallow shook his head. “The alphabet! I learned their alphabet!”

  Hector’s shoulders collapsed, and Rose smiled.

  “So, what next, oh learn-ed one?” Hector asked.

  “Just one more book,” Dallow said. “This library was mostly engineering and science. It was fascinating...”

  “Where can we find you the right book?” Rose asked quickly, to hold back the oncoming tide of information.

  “Oh,” Dallow said. “There are a few more libraries in Enurthen. I need the one over where we found Alloria.”

  “I’ll lead the way,” Hector said. Both Hector and Alloria grunted as he threw her over his shoulder.

  Two additional libraries later—totaling four—and many hours—totaling too many—brought them to the center of Enurthen. It was a large building that looked as official as any. They’d never been able to open its enormous steel doors, so had mostly ignored it.

  “All I need is...” Dallow began.

  “We know,” Hector said, unable to hold back his exhaustion.

  “One more book,” Rose said, finishing his sentence.

  “This is it, though,” Dallow said. “There really isn’t anywhere else to go. This is the archive where they kept all the information on how this city was built, its history, and the power that’s kept it going.”

  “You’re loving this, aren’t you?” Hector asked.

  “You know it!” Dallow said with a broad smile. “Am I facing the door?”

  “Yes,” Rose said, sounding tired.

  He raised a hand, his long fingers spread, and his eyes glowed bright white through the blue kerchief. Dallow frowned in concentration, finally saying something that sounded
like ‘clamchowder’ but was pronounced more like, “Cremkouchder.” Nothing happened, and Hector threw up his arms. Rose rested a hand on his shoulder and shushed him with a finger to her lips. Dallow tried again and again, his pronunciation changing each time. After his fifth try, there was a tiny click followed by the gentle creak of old hinges. A small door within a much larger door opened wide enough to slide fingers in the crack. Dallow sighed and collapsed on the stairs.

  “Great job!” Rose said, sitting close to him.

  “Yes,” Hector agreed. “But I would’ve expected something...bigger. Horns, maybe a parade, or possibly monsters.”

  “Heh. I’ll try harder next time,” Dallow said. “Who knew figuring out a language that old would be so hard. Do we have anything to eat?”

  Alloria cried out through her cloth gag. Hector looked at Rose, who apparently had no plans to remove it. He knelt and gently removed the binding from her mouth.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Please...please,” she said, gasping for breath. “I have to pee!”

  “Go ahead,” Rose said.

  “No, that’s gross,” Alloria begged. “Please, no.”

  Rose jerked the cloth from Hector’s hand and tried jamming it back into Alloria’s mouth. The princess rocked her head back and forth until Rose slapped her. Alloria sobbed as she jammed the gag back in place.

  “What?” Rose snapped at Hector. “She shoved that dagger into Dallow’s stomach and cut my neck open. I don’t trust her, at all. She can pee on herself for all I care.”

  “Oookay,” Hector said.

  Dallow shrugged, stood, and slowly made his way up the stairs. Rose took his arm while Hector picked up Alloria and followed. The princess squeaked but fortunately didn’t pee all over him.

  “I can’t see anything in here,” Rose said as they entered. “There aren’t any windows.”

  “No problem,” Dallow said, raising a hand again. He fumbled through more words until finding the right pronunciation of ‘horsemuck,’ and then there was light.

  Hector gasped as the room filled with light. This wasn’t the spotty light from candles or torches; this was like light from the sun that filled everything in brightness and warmth.

  “How did you do that?” Rose asked.

  “See what you can learn from books?” Dallow said haughtily. “Please describe the room.”

  “No books here,” Hector said quickly. “We should probably go.”

  “What?” Dallow asked in surprise.

  “Dallow,” Rose said in wonder. “You’ll never want to leave. There are enough books in here for a lifetime.”

  “Maybe your lifetime,” he scoffed. “I wish I could see.”

  “It’s at least twice the size of your library in Unsel,” she said.

  “My library,” he whispered longingly.

  “The walls are shelves and shelves of books, reaching stories tall to the ceiling,” she said, her voice filled with concern. “But there aren’t any walkways, not even any ladders. How can you possibly get to the one you need?”

  “What else is in the room?” he asked, trying to sound calm but his voice shook.

  “There are a dozen desks, each with a wooden chair,” Hector said. “It’s as boring as any school I forgot to attend.”

  “Hurry,” Dallow said, reaching out and grasping at the air like a toddler reaching for a toy. “Bring me to one.”

  Rose guided him to the nearest desk, wiping away dust as he awkwardly found his way into the chair. A white hue was already glowing from his eyes, and he lifted his hands, wiggling his fingers excitedly. Hand prints had been carved into the desk. As he lowered them, Rose helped guide his hands to the carved-out impressions.

  “Ahh,” he cried out, jerking his head back.

  His eyes glowed so white that Hector couldn’t look directly at them. Rose tugged on Dallow’s arms but they were stuck. Hector set the bundle of Alloria on the floor and went to help. His friend was stiff as a board, as if rigor mortis had set in.

  “Wait,” Dallow whispered. After several labored breaths, he lifted his hands and smiled. “It still works!”

  “What, Dallow?” Rose asked.

  “I’m not the only reader who’s ever existed,” Dallow explained. He pressed his hands together and pulled them apart several times. “They tingle,” he said, his voice filled with wonder. He was out of breath, as if he’d run around the room several times, and his words tumbled out with excitement. “This was a library for people like me.”

  “Oh, good,” Hector said, rubbing his thumb along the scar on his chin. “What does that mean?”

  “This desk...these desks are connected to all the books on the shelves,” Dallow said. “I don’t need to go to the books, they come to me.”

  “Huh,” Hector said, feeling incredibly stupid. “So what does that mean?”

  “I need three hours,” Dallow said. “It should be enough time to learn their system for cataloging books, finding the ones I need, and reading them.”

  “That’s it?” Hector asked.

  “Food,” Dallow said. “I’m famished.”

  “I can bring us dinner...or breakfast,” Rose said, rubbing her eyes.

  “Hector, are you done sewing blankets?” Dallow asked.

  “Sewing?” Rose asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “I wasn’t just watching Nordruaut beat each other to death in that tower,” Hector said proudly. “I made some protective gear we can wear outside. It’s not pretty, but should be enough to keep us warm. I even made some for Alloria.”

  “How thoughtful,” Rose said dryly.

  “Speaking of, what do we do with her?” Hector asked, nodding at the bundle.

  “She’s not going anywhere,” Rose said. “If she could’ve escaped by now, she would’ve, just to pee.”

  “That’s a lot of confidence in embarrassment,” Hector said with a frown.

  “Have you ever seen a woman pee?” Rose asked.

  “Well, uh, no,” Hector said, his cheeks warm.

  “Exactly,” Rose said.

  “I can handle her,” Dallow said nonchalantly. “I’ve learned a lot today and could turn her into a puddle if needed.”

  “I think she’ll make her own puddle,” Rose said with an evil laugh.

  Alloria sought Hector, her eyes pleading for compassion.

  “Harm him, and I’ll put a body part in every room of this city,” Hector said, staring Alloria down. “That would be an awful thing to live through. Understand?”

  Alloria’s nodded briskly, crying and sobbing through the gag.

  “We’re going, Dallow,” Hector began, but his friend was already in the throes of books.

  Rose gave Dallow a brief peck on the cheek, and they left.

  Unsel

  “You look exhausted,” the guard said. “Are you all right?”

  Two soldiers stood at the top of the entrance to the royal hallway, watching Mika lumber slowly up the stairs. They were the same two who stood here every day, the same two he spoke to in his friendliest tone, and the same two he had told most of his best stories. He couldn’t remember their names.

  “I think I figured out how to hold back the deterioration of this shield,” Mika said with his most winning smile. “It seems to be fading fast, but I can keep it going for just a bit longer.”

  “Hurry,” Victoria’s distant voice whispered in his head, making him wince.

  The second soldier’s face went askew at the wince, as if he’d never seen anyone with a headache. Of course, this headache made Mika’s cheek twitch, forcing his eye to squint uncontrollably. The two guards looked at each other nervously, and the distrust in their eyes made his teeth grind. This wasn’t the time. She needed him, and he had to save his energy. He would’ve explained, but they just wouldn’t understand.

  “I’m not all right,” he said, making his voice quiver and letting his shoulders droop. “I didn’t think it showed.”

  “Maybe some food?” one of the
m said, practically offering to fetch some. “Or some rest?”

  “I ate before coming, but thank you,” Mika said. “I don’t mind being exhausted. It’s for Victoria. She’s family, and sometimes it’s necessary to sacrifice for people we love. Several years ago, there was a blizzard that struck our township. It came in the early winter and was devastating. My father—”

  “What’s wrong with your hand?” the first guard asked.

  Mika must’ve been tired, for he’d meant to keep his hand with the gift, the ruby ring, hidden. The entire palm was blotchy with dark purple and yellow bruises. Cracks of dried skin crept around the edges like shattered glass. Dark fissures of blood seeped out if he flexed his swollen palms too hard. His ring finger was darker than the rest; the swelling had almost completely cut off circulation.

  “The magic to keep her alive has a price,” he said. It was easy to explain this part; it wasn’t a lie, just not the entire truth. He raised the mess of a hand, a dark orange glow throbbing from the cracks. “I can explain it more...”

  Both soldiers took nervous steps back, and stopped. They didn’t move, or breathe, or speak. They simply remained frozen between moments. Mica could’ve killed them, but that would make things even more complicated. Instead, he turned away from the frozen guards and approached the shield.

  “Yessss,” Victoria whispered in his ears.

  “I’ll save you, my love,” he said, gritting his teeth. Mika winced again as he turned the ring around, moving it with hesitant jerks before it lined up with his palm. He took a deep breath and struck the shield.

  Smack. Mika couldn’t refrain from yelping out every time his hand connected. Smack. The shield flashed a sharp burgundy that made him wince. Smack. It stung all the way up to his shoulder. Smack. Was that what it felt like when you decided to cut off your own hand? Smack. Love required sacrifice, and they were in love! He collapsed to his knees. Smack.

  Hours passed. Mika’s mouth was dry and his bangs damp with sweat. His ring hand was a bloody mess, splattering red every time he hit the shield. It was so frustrating! It made him so angry that she was locked in there, stuck in time. Time was supposed to be his! Was he even making progress? He wound up for one last strike and, with all his will, slapped the shield.