Secrets of the Tally

by Halie Fewkes

  “Shut up and let go!” My throat constricted and breathing became painful as the truth sank in. I threw my weight against his arms to escape his grasp. When that didn’t work, I combined my writhing with kicking and punching, throwing in a few elbows and knees. He was careful not to let me bite him, and my thrashing was apparently unimpressive because he even began to speak to the Escali as I tried to break his tight hold.

  “You agreed you wouldn’t show yourselves,” Archie said, and I saw that his plural use of the word was justified as two Escali women approached us as well, bows drawn just in case.

  The male growled, “Izfazara said to step in if you didn’t have the situation in control.”

  “I do have it under control!”

  “No, you don’t,” I snarled, finally sinking my teeth into one of his arms. Izfazara — he was the Escalis’ king. How much trouble was I in?

  The Escali said, “We needed to intervene. Somebody’s already out looking for her.”

  “What? How?” Archie exclaimed, finally jerking his arm out of my teeth. “We’ve hardly been out here five minutes!”

  “I don’t know how they’ve realized she’s gone, but if you listen, you can already hear them.”

  Even I stopped resisting just long enough to hear a lone voice in the distance, fading as though travelling away from us. “Allie! Please, you have to come back. It’s not as bad as I made it sound. Just pretend I never told you anything.” Why did it have to be Liz?

  The Escali said, “We all know how badly this plan will fail if they use the resources of the Dragona to find her. We’ll take care of the girl calling for her, and—”

  “NO!” I screamed. “LIZ—”

  Archie clamped a hand over my mouth, and no amount of wriggling or writhing could free my voice. He exclaimed for me, “No no no, leave her alone.”

  The Escali scoffed and twirled a twig absentmindedly between his fingers. “Getting rid of this lone searcher will buy you time.”

  “We’ve already got plenty. Look, we’re leaving right now. Please, just leave her alone.”

  Archie took a few backward steps toward the lake to prove that we were, indeed, leaving.

  I heard the deep voice of another Escali behind me, saying, “You could at least use some help.”

  Archie peered around behind us and said, “Ekvid! Yes. If Ekvid stays with us, can the rest of you leave? We’ll be fine.”

  The Escali in front of us, who appeared to be the leader, contemplated the idea, then said, “We’ll stay in the near vicinity. Remember, you’re in a hurry.”

  Each of the Escalis, save the one behind us, retreated back into the trees. I couldn’t hear Liz anymore. Archie must not have been able to either, because rather than try to keep me silenced, he released his tight hold.

  All I could do was slump to the ground to finally let the due shock flood through me. How could he do this? I had trusted him so much. I was glad to be sitting, because the wave of hurt crashing through my chest was making me dizzy.

  The one thing I could do right now was keep myself from crying. I wouldn’t give Archie that satisfaction. Plus, I had no need to cry when I could be angry about all the realizations I was too late in reaching.

  It was no wonder he had shanking family issues with Sir Avery!

  “Allie…” he said, but I simply shook my head to tell him to stop. “Allie, look. I’m really sorry about all of this, but we need to move.”

  In the most accusing, hurtful tone I could come up with, I told him with all sincerity, “You are dead to me.” To my surprise, he flinched and stooped down to look me straight in the eye.

  “I know you mean that too. But if you don’t get up and walk, we’re going to have to carry you.”

  “Don’t you touch me.”

  I crossed my legs, grabbed onto a few sturdy roots in the ground, and waited for him to do something.

  “Allie, we really will carry you.” His voice was challenging, and then he made to follow through when I didn’t move.

  “I’ll walk,” I said as he got too close. I stood up — still feeling mildly faint and disoriented — and ordered my feet to move.

  I walked slowly, trying to buy time. I only stole one glance at the Escali who had come with us, just long enough to see his thick eyebrows set over small cloudy eyes. We were headed toward the lake, but I had thought we were closer than we were. After a few minutes of slow travel, I heard voices in the distance. They were calling for me too.

  Archie and Ekvid heard them as well. Before they could silence me, I made another break for it and yelled back, “HELP! ESCALIS! I’M OVER HERE, ARCHIE’S A TRAIT—”

  Archie caught up within a second, stuck his hand in my mouth, and I bit down hard. I was sure it was hurting like a nightmare, but he didn’t take it out. I tried again to wrestle myself away as he tightened an arm around my middle, but Ekvid grabbed both of my feet and the two of them picked me up like a sack of flour to be hauled to the lake.

  They arrived at the edge where they set me down and Archie wrenched his hand out of my mouth.

  “Please don’t start yelling!” he said quickly, “Just give me a minute and let me expl—”

  “HELP!” I screamed, “I’M OVER HE—”

  But before I could finish, Archie and Ekvid grabbed my shoulders and threw me through the air, into the drenching deep.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I crashed into the algae-ridden lake water with the full force of their throw, and my momentum didn’t halt until I was several cubits under.

  So this was how dying was going to be? Fine, but I wasn’t going to sink without a fight!

  I kicked out hard with my feet and tried my best to swim upwards to no avail. I wasn’t a decent swimmer by any standards. Did Archie know that? That I was capable of drowning in a shallow pond? I might have enough breath to last me until I breached the surface, and then I could make enough noise to catch the attention of someone nearby.

  The lightheaded sensation began to kick in and my lungs began crying the same word over and over again. Drowning, drowning! I was almost there, only a little ways left, and finally I surfaced.

  I breathed in the air and let one waterlogged cough escape, pulling my short hair from my eyes, and then I saw Archie jumping in the water and swimming toward me. I instantly forgot about yelling for help in my rage of yelling obscene curses at Archie.

  “YOU FILTHY—” I was cut short as he grabbed me and pulled me under. I tried to kick him but the water slowed my attacks into ineffective blows.

  He pulled me deeper and deeper until I couldn’t possibly get back to the surface.

  I truly tried to strangle him as we descended, but still, we went deeper. I couldn’t hold my breath any longer, but I wasn’t going to let it out before Archie did. That would be letting him win.

  Why he hadn’t left yet to head toward the surface was a mystery to me. I didn’t stand a chance of ever making it back to breathable air. The other Escali was swimming down behind us. Right, because Archie really needed his help.

  I hadn’t realized it, but we had turned into a small underwater tunnel, and then I understood what was going on. We were headed for an underwater cave.

  My lungs decided to collapse, and I breathed in a mouthful of water that stung my nose and forced me to cough all my remaining air out as well. Seconds later we broke through into a dry pocket where I could breathe again. Archie hauled me onto solid ground while I coughed out water with such force that my eyes teared up and I could feel the pressure of blood reddening my face.

  “Are you alright?” he asked. He had brought me to a completely barren cave, save a few rocks situated in the now lapping water.

  “YOU DIRTY BACKSTABBER!” I half cried, breaking free of him to clutch a large boulder in the water. “IS THIS WHAT’S GOING ON? I’LL JUST GO MISSING FOR THREE MORE DAYS AND YOU’LL SEND ME BACK HOME WITH NO MEMORY OF THIS? OF YOUR TREACHERY? AND THEN YOU’RE GOING TO PRANCE BACK TO THE DRAGONA AND PRETEND TO BE MY FRIEND
?” I looked him in the eyes to find him smiling as I ranted, as though my panic amused him.

  I flung both of my arms wide open, and a magic I didn’t know I had inside me took control. I held my hands up to see each glowing brightly, throwing light everywhere. My eyes glowed too, illuminating my vision. My entire being was filled with magic, and I took no time in aiming it all at Archie and unleashing.

  He threw up some sort of magic barrier in between us to stop my attack — a shield that kept my siege of white crackling energy from touching him. Shanking Epic!

  The other Escali was standing to the side of us, not knowing what to do, so I took away his options before he could choose. Letting up on the barrage of Archie’s defenses for only a second, I sent a flash of brilliant destruction toward the Escali, knocked him into the wall opposite, and watched him crumple. Archie took full advantage of the moment, leapt onto the boulder next to me, and twisted my left arm behind my back. My palm was facing out — not smart on his part.

  I lurched forward to pull him off the rock, then launched myself backwards, slamming Archie into the cavern wall. I tried again to break away from him. His hold was too tight so I shot all my power through the left hand still pinned behind me, knowing it would cripple him as soon as it hit — but it never did. He had put up that shield between us, which absorbed most of the onslaught, but redirected some of it back toward me.

  It felt like the shock after building up too much static, but like that shock had been multiplied by every grain of sand on the beach. I fell forward a step and gasped as I tried to get a hold of myself again. My nerves had been fried.

  Archie let me fall to the ground and then backed away, shaking, to lean against the wall as if it was the only thing holding him up. I brought myself slowly up to see him on even terms, both of us unstable and out of breath.

  “So what happens now, Allie?” he asked as he shuddered and eyed the glow of my hands.

  “I don’t know,” I whispered, but my voice wasn’t my own. A strangely ethereal tone made it sound menacing, and my strength was already returning to my limbs. Archie slid down the wall to sit on the ground and flinched when I raised my hands again. I crouched down next to him. “What’s the matter? Don’t like the disadvantage?” He laughed shakily.

  “I knew something like this would happen. Could you stop glowing for a second and talk?”

  “No!” I said, stepping back. I rubbed my fingers together, feeling energy buzz between them. “But you are about to explain everything to me.”

  Without any warning signals from Archie, every muscle in my body suddenly refused to move, and I was stuck with one arm frozen out in front of me. No. How was this fair? I finally found my power, and even that was useless now? No! I would find a way to break free of this new magic.

  From behind me, a new and deep voice of confidence said, “The power of destruction, Allie. Impressive.”

  I saw Archie relax slightly into the wall, and I knew instantly he wasn’t the one using this power — which meant the Escali behind me could only be one. The Prince Avalask. Even if I could move, I would have been too terrified to actually turn around to look at him. I could not acknowledge that I was in the presence of the monster of our age.

  “Allie, I need you to hold this for me,” Prince Avalask said. All I saw of him was his arm, draped beneath a black fur sleeve, reaching from behind me to place a tiny golden stone in my hand.

  I shrieked as soon as the pebble dropped onto my palm. It began to steal everything from me. My brightly lit eyes dimmed as the magic I had so recently found was absorbed into the stone. I tried to drop it or even shake it off, but I still had absolutely no ability to move my arms or any other part of my body.

  Not only was my magic energy leaving, my real energy was being taken as well. I felt sure I would have collapsed to the ground if I wasn’t fully immobilized. I was at least on the verge of losing my vision and consciousness.

  I heard fingers snap behind me, and the stone disappeared from my hand. I had no glow left in my eyes, and hardly any life either. I swayed in and out of reality, but still heard most of Archie and Prince Avalask’s conversation.

  Prince Avalask, still out of my sight, was telling him, “Your opinion doesn’t matter to me right now. Head the Humans off. Tell them you saw her taken. She and I will have words, and she’s all yours as soon as you’re back.”

  Archie began to argue with him, but Prince Avalask threw me somewhere new where I couldn’t hear what was said.

  The tiny cell I landed in was dead silent, except for the tiny snaps of a burning torch. It cast a gloomy flicker on nothing more than a wooden door with bars across the top and a hammock hung straight across the room.

  I kicked the door and ripped the torch off the wall to hurl it furiously to the ground. I stomped a foot and then shivered — my leather clothes slimy and dripping onto the floor while my sopping wet hair stuck to my face. I was absolutely too exhausted to be throwing a fit. Finally I was alone, and one thing above all others needed to happen.

  I lay down on the hung mesh, curled in on myself to keep warm, and covered my face with both hands, hopelessly pulling in a stuttering breath. I finally released the sob of anguish that had been building since the day I had woken in the woods as a broken soul, and I let my tears fall through the hammock onto the floor.

  Everybody has to die sometime, I told myself. I think I might have fallen asleep and woken again. I wasn’t positive.

  Except I’d be lucky if the Escalis simply killed me. I knew that wasn’t their intention. The Escali king needed something from me. The Escali Epic was going to get it.

  I couldn’t dedicate my mind to that stress right now. I had to assess the situation.

  My hands weren’t bound — that was good — but my short swords were still gone. I reached out for the magic I had used against Archie, but I couldn’t access it. My hands were so frozen I couldn’t even move my fingers, and my whole body shuddered to keep warm as my wet clothes refused to dry. I got up strenuously from the hammock to grab the torch I had thrown and hold my hands over it. They felt immediately better as the heat sank in.

  I could hear somebody approaching outside, so I threw the torch back into its socket on the wall and pulled my legs in to my body to stay warm as the door opened. My heart sank and burned as Archie stepped quietly inside, but I was too cold and tired to inform him of the rotten things he resembled.

  He had a blanket with him, which he quickly tossed onto me. “I have to talk fast because Prince Avalask thinks I’ve already left. I’m sorry, Allie. I know it’s cold down here.” He talked like we were still friends.

  “I hate you,” I muttered as loudly as my voice would let me.

  “I know you do, but not forever I hope.” He pulled the blanket around my shoulders. I would have shrugged it off if I wasn’t shivering.

  “So what now?” I whispered.

  “Well, right now I have to go, and you’ll have to stay here for a while. I need to get back up to the surface before anyone notices I’m gone.”

  “And what will you tell them when you get back home?” I could feel anger returning, but no magic accompanied it this time.

  At least he was honest, telling me, “I haven’t decided yet. I’ll probably tell them you were kidnapped by Escalis, and I saw the whole thing but was too far away to stop it. Or they may just think you ran off after Liz told you about the blood test.”

  “You can’t pull this off.” I wanted to scream. “I’ll get out of here, and I’ll tell everyone. We’ll see what Anna and Sir Darius do to you when—”

  I was interrupted as an Escali came through the door and growled upon seeing Archie. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

  “I know. I was just leaving. Just thought I’d come say ‘bye’ before I was gone. Allie,” Archie looked directly at me, “I won’t be back for a while, but you’ll understand once I am. You’re going to be alright. I promise.” I didn’t respond, so he turned to go, leaving the door open.<
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  The Escali watched him depart and then turned his attention to me. “I have a question to ask you.”

  “I’m not going to tell you anything,” I spat. I had a plan forming in my mind, and my strength seemed to be coming back at a good rate.

  The Escali let out a deep laugh at my reaction, further infuriating me. “I’m not about to torture you. Do you have any idea why you’re here?”

  I glared at him in silence for a second and then jumped off the hammock and raced toward the open door.

  I underestimated the Escali’s reflexes, and he was as fast as lightning in slamming the door shut before I could get to it. I looked into his piercing, foggy eyes, and he asked again, “How much do you know about why you’re here?”

  “How about this,” I said as I backed away from him, “let me list all the reasons for you on the fingers of one hand! One, Escalis are evil. Two, Archie’s a traitor. Three, I probably know something you want to know. But I can tell you right now, I will never—”

  The Escali growled to himself and then opened the door and left, closing it behind him. Nothing was making sense — except that I needed to get out. With him gone, I wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and pushed and pulled at the door — pushed and pulled at the wooden door, and then wondered how long it would be until somebody would be along to check on me. The longer I sat wondering, the less time I would have to make something work.

  I pulled the torch off the wall and stuck it under the wood, hoping it would eat quickly. Obviously I knew the door wouldn’t shoot up in flames, but I didn’t expect the fire to consume quite so slowly. As wood charred away I would move the torch to a different area of the excavation, then pull as much of the burnt area off as I could before moving the torch again. It was burning my hands, but I didn’t take much notice. I wished I had the magic I used against Archie again — it would definitely make things faster.

  The hole in the door was almost to the point where I could try to squeeze through when the Escali came back, accompanied by two others. He was angry and irritated by the damage I had caused, and relieved I hadn’t succeeded. The other two found it funny and were trying to suppress laughs. I hoped my mischief got him into trouble.