by Kyle West
I was holding a crawler’s jaws at bay, so exhausted that I could only see blackness. I was using Silence to channel all that remained of my energy to keep its mandibles from clasping around my neck.
Hold on, I thought. Just a bit longer.
And then, there came the thunder of rain, a loud, pulsating sound that drowned all my senses. It felt as if my head would shatter from it. I curled up, and there was inhuman screaming. I opened my eyes to see a vast shadow, falling . . .
I rolled over, narrowly missing a crawler that had fallen from above.
The metallic rain ceased. I heard voices shouting, and not long after, hands grabbing me. I was lifted into the air, though I couldn’t tell who the people were, or if I was even still alive.
All went dark after that.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
WHEN I OPENED MY EYES, I was in Odin’s clinic. My first sight was Mia looking at me from the bedside.
She startled when she noticed me moving.
“You’re awake. How are you feeling?”
I coughed, and the feeling hurt my chest. “Like hell.”
“That’s not surprising. You must have fallen from fifteen feet up, right onto a ledge. Landed right on your back.”
“I . . . don’t remember much after the crawlers got me.”
“You may have a concussion,” Mia said.
I was in pain from crown to toe. I tried to move my arm, but a sharp pain made me change my mind about that quick. I just barely managed to hold in a scream.
“It’s broken,” Mia said quietly. “Compound fracture.”
I looked at my arm. A dull pain emanated from it and into my chest.
“It hurts like hell.”
“I know,” Mia said sympathetically. “Believe it or not, you’ve been given some Aether to help with the pain. Even so, it’s not blocking everything.”
“Aether? Where . . .?”
“It’s Isandru’s,” she said, leaving it at that.
“Right.” I decided to leave it at that, too. “What else is wrong with me? Can’t be just the arm.”
“Broken collar bone. Scrapes and bruises all over. A broken finger on your left hand. We set your bones while you were out. We were worried you would die. If the marrow gets into the blood . . . it can clog your arteries. In short, you were very lucky.”
I heard footsteps in the corridor, along with voices. More and more people crowded into the tiny clinic. First was Nabea, followed by Ret and Samal. Behind them were more people I couldn’t see yet.
“Give her space,” Tellor boomed. “Clear out. Didn’t I tell you boys to finish cleaning the galley?”
“We just wanted to see her,” Samal protested.
“You can visit later. As it stands, you’ll suffocate her.”
Indeed, all three of them were watching me from above, almost blocking out the florescent light of the clinic.
“We’ll talk later,” I said.
I tried to get myself up, but failed miserably—it just hurt too much.
“Stay still,” Mia said. She looked up at Elder Tellor. “I’ll take my leave.”
“Wait,” I said.
Mia stopped halfway to the door. “Yes?”
“You need to listen to this,” I said.
Mia looked confused. “Why?”
I wasn’t sure why, exactly. “Because you need to hear this.”
Elder Tellor pulled up a chair. It appeared that he was going to be the only one present, except for Mia.
“Where’s Elder Isandru?” I asked.
“He’s down below, speaking to Elder Aurelius. That is, the former Elder Sage.”
“Elder Aurelius . . .” At first, I was confused but then I put the pieces together. “We’re in Auberin?”
Tellor nodded. “We’re waiting for him to conclude his business. The Watchers’ skills will be needed if Northold is to hold out long enough for reinforcements.”
“How did we leave it?”
Tellor shook his head. “A mess. But there was nothing else we could do. The entire place is under siege, but thankfully, everyone could fit inside the walls. How long they can last inside the walls is another question entirely.”
“And the dragons?”
When I coughed, Mia went to fetch me water.
“Not a sign,” Tellor said. “That’s the greatest mystery.”
“Have we searched for them?”
“We flew east as soon as we took flight, thinking to meet them on their way. However, they were nowhere in sight. That’s when we decided to turn back for here, hoping there was someone among the brothers of the Watch who could help you.” Elder Tellor sighed. “Alas, your injuries were beyond the skill of even their most talented Clerics.”
“That bad, huh?”
Tellor nodded. “It’s bad. There’s little they can do other than heal you by conventional means. It’ll be weeks before you are back to full fighting capacity.” He cleared his throat. “Many of them say that, even in weeks . . . you’ll never fight the same way. It was your sword arm, after all.”
“Let’s not discuss my injuries,” I said. “If the dragons aren’t heading to Northold . . . then where?
“That’s the thing. We don’t know what Shal is planning.”
Mia frowned at the mere mention of his name. But she said nothing.
“What are you thinking, Mia?” I asked.
She looked up from where she had been staring at the deck. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around this reality. How I’m . . . here. Almost two centuries in the future. I feel so out of place. Not just in this time, but here. I feel like this was all a terrible mistake . . .” Her face firmed; it was clear she was battling tears. “It was a mistake. Because of him . . . because of Shal . . . none of us could lead normal lives. Because of him, the Shen destroyed Hyperborea. But it was too late. Nothing could stop the decay of the Xenofold. Everything I did to stop it . . . none of it mattered.”
“We still have a chance, Mia,” I said.
“A chance,” she said. “A small chance, at that.”
“It’s still a chance. There was also a small chance four hundred years ago, Mia. Somehow, against all odds, we won. Don’t count victory out so long as you draw breath.”
“But isn’t this all just . . . overwhelming to you? You are literally crippled, and yet, you talk of victory.”
“There’s one thing I’ve learned, both in my life and in Anna’s. Never, ever give up. I don’t care if all of us die in the end, so long as it means we stop the Radaskim.”
Mia nodded. “I know. The Xenofold can’t die. We had a chance to stop it, in my time,” she paused, remembering. “I had to watch as my parents, my people, listened to that evil man and not to me. I remember how the Aether, one by one, took control of them . . . how it bound them to the Hyperfold and made them forget who they truly were.”
I remembered that from my visions of her past. Her mother and father had been twisted by Aether, the drug of Shal’s creation. It was a drug that still controlled lives today. A drug that destroyed lives. It served to channel the Elekai’s abilities into the Hyperfold, the source of all Rakhim Shal’s power.
“Do you think we can learn from our mistakes, Mia?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No. I mean . . . I don’t know. I’m sure I sound terribly pessimistic.”
“Your experiences produced that mindset,” Tellor said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet and gentle. “You know too much. You’ve seen too much. I would be worried for you if you weren’t a bit skeptical. Skepticism is the sign of a healthy intellect.”
In my previous life, I had seen us succeed at the near-impossible. Mia and her generation had failed to stop the evil that was threatening the world now. Perhaps that was the reason for our different outlooks.
“Whatever you’re thinking, Mia, it isn’t your fault for what happened. My mother told me that I wasn’t responsible for the world’s evils. Nobody is. Evil is a disease. All that is beyond you, and it’s beyond any of us.
All we can do is fight it, and fight for the redemption of those who have fallen.”
I wasn’t sure why I said that specifically. Probably because I was thinking of Isaru. When we left him there in the Hyperfold, when he couldn’t come back, had evil been his choice, or had it been forced on him?
I felt a deep grief such as I had never known. Broken as I was, I would never lift a sword again with the same strength and vigor. I was lucky to be alive, yet it was hard to be grateful for life when I would be confined here for weeks, perhaps even months.
Tears came to my eyes. “My sword is here, right?”
To my relief, Tellor nodded. “You managed to sheathe it after the fall, somehow. It’s in your cabin.”
“Let Mia have my sword, then,” I said. “Since I cannot use it. Train her to use it, as you trained me. She’s strong—stronger than anyone else alive today, save Isandru or myself.”
“Me?” She shook her head fiercely. “Shanti, I could never—”
“Do it for me, then,” I said. “Take my sword. Fight. None of us can stand aside because the difference between victory and defeat could be one person. I will hear no argument from you, Mia. You’re here for a reason. If not to fight, what is that reason?”
She frowned. “I—I don’t know. I’ve been trying to figure that out ever since I got here.”
“Let it be your focus, then. Find your reason, and you’ll have a reason to hope.”
“I’ll think about it.” Her expression was conflicted. Clearly, the idea of doing violence, even to something evil like a crawler, was hard for her to stomach.
All I could do was plant the seed.
“I’m tired,” I said. “When I wake, bring everyone else in here one by one.”
“Of course,” Tellor said, getting up to leave. Mia remained sitting, staring at the deck with her gray eyes. I didn’t think she even heard me.
As Tellor walked out, I spoke to her. “Mia?”
She was broken from her reverie. “Yes?”
“Those crawlers can be controlled. And if the crawlers can be controlled . . . perhaps the dragons can, too.”
“They told me about that,” Mia said. “They said you called it something. Synchronizing, was it?”
“Yeah. That was it. I didn’t remember at the time. But it was something Anna did. Another one of the lost Gifts, perhaps. It involved connecting your mind to another being, and dominating its thoughts and intents.” I looked at her. “There was nothing like that in Hyperborea?”
“There was no such thing, even in my time. The closest thing that comes to it is Shal controlling people with the Hyperfold. But nothing like you described.”
“I see,” I said. “Your brother was able to do it, too. If we’re going to have more of these battles . . . it would help if I could learn to control that ability. And if Isandru was strong enough, perhaps you are, too.”
She nodded. “My brother and I are of the same blood. Whatever abilities he has, I’m likely to have in equal strength.”
“You see why I need you, then? Isandru is strong, Mia, but he is an old man. Aether pushes him beyond his limits, but with the war going the way it is . . .” I trailed off. “I’m sorry to mention such a thing. It’s . . . blunt. But as close to death as I came, death could easily come for any of us.”
“I know what you’re saying. But I’m not a fighter, Shanti. I fight with words and ideas, not swords, and certainly not to control the thoughts of another being. The very idea is . . . repulsive to me.”
“Not even to defend your friends . . . or your life?”
She frowned. “Perhaps for that I would. But I wouldn’t seek out a fight. But with how things are going, I don’t have a choice, do I? I could be a coward, but I’d rather die than be that.” She sighed. “I’ll fight to defend my friends, yes. And I guess that means I should take your sword then, too?”
She sounded angry, so I just waited and listened. When nothing more came, I responded, “It’s all of our roles. All of us would rather not fight, but it’s the times we’re living in. We didn’t get to choose this, Mia. It chose us.”
“That’s the truth if I’ve ever heard it.”
“The Radaskim mean to destroy our world. Not just destroy . . . to control it. They’re using the Hyperfold to do that. We might be one hundred and fifty years late, Mia, but we’re here. We’re stopping it.” I looked to her; all the talking had made me feel weak, and I could barely keep my head up. “Do I have your support?”
“Of course,” Mia said. “I’ll fight. I’ll even use your sword if it pleases you. Just rest, Shanti. You’re overexerting yourself.”
I wanted her to not be right, but she was. “I can rest knowing what you just said. Train, Mia. Become strong. We need strong people here. Without strength . . .” I trailed off, losing my train of thought. I was fading fast.
Mia came over and helped me lie down. She stood there waiting while I closed my eyes.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I FELT MYSELF FALLING, BUT this wasn’t a dream. Before I knew what was happening, I crashed to the deck, pain shooting through my fractured arm. I screamed, but it was lost to the emergency klaxons blaring from the corridor.
Pallos’ voice emanated from the intercom. “All crewman need to take cover.”
I struggled to get up but was still too weak. The Aether had all but worn off.
“Up you get,” Ret said, kneeling beside me.
Despite his lanky form, he scooped me up with ease and placed me back on the clinic bed, taking care not to hurt my already injured arm.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked, wincing.
“Don’t worry about that, Shanti.”
“I know I might be stuck in a bed, but I’m still captain of this ship. Tell me what’s happening.”
“A few dragons,” Samal said, running in.
“Dragons,” I said.
The klaxons cut off, and the interior was bathed in red lighting. People ran up and down the corridor—there was Tellor, then Isa, followed by Fiona.
“It’s the middle of the night,” Samal said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “We must be descending toward Dragonspire.”
We had to be. Pallos wouldn’t have been dumb enough to fly at a low altitude, where dragons would be a problem.
Both Samal and Ret held me down by the shoulders, keeping me stabilized on the bed. It’s a good thing they did because the Odin gave another lurch that sent them nearly crashing into the bulwarks on either side of the bed.
By the time they regained their footing, Pallos’ voice exited the intercom once more. “Stay put. We’re not out of this yet.”
There was nothing more infuriating than being incapacitated. Whatever Pallos’ knowledge of this ship, he wasn’t as good a pilot as me.
“Ret, get up there and tell me what’s going on.”
“Sorry,” he said. “I got to make sure you don’t hurt yourself.”
“Samal will keep me safe. Go! That’s an order.”
He hesitated, clearly under orders from someone else not to leave my side.
“Now, Ret!”
That got him moving. He grabbed the bulwark as the ship gave another sudden drop, and then he was out the door.
“What do you know, Samal? Explain everything that’s happened.”
“I know as much as you, honest. Pallos said on the intercom that we’d be putting down soon.”
“We’ve got to be low on fuel,” I said. “What’s he up to?”
“I don’t know,” Samal said. “No one’s been telling us initiates anything.”
For once, I knew as little as they did. I hoped he wasn’t blaming me for keeping him out of the loop.
We sat quietly in the clinic and there were no more impacts or sudden drops. There was also no sign of Ret. They were holding him, not allowing him to come back and give me information.
“Something’s off,” I said.
Samal nodded. “Yeah.”
The red lighting transitio
ned to the conventional fluorescents. I blinked my eyes, but they still had trouble adjusting. I felt dizzy, and more than that, in pain.
“Something tells me we’re nowhere close to Dragonspire.”
“What do you mean?” Samal asked. “That’s where we’re supposed to be going, right?”
Pallos had sole control of this ship. If he had decided to go somewhere else, would anyone know the difference?
“Has anyone been allowed on the flight deck?”
“Yeah,” Samal said. “I haven’t been personally, but . . .”
“But what? Who’s in there besides Pallos?”
“The Seekers have been somewhat secretive today. I figured it had something to do with you. I didn’t ask. Well, they were talking in the conference room with Pallos.”
“About what?”
“I don’t know, Shanti. I just know something’s up. It’s not my place to ask.”
“Yes, it is.” I grabbed him by the arm. “You’re loyal to me first. Understand? To hell with anybody else. Find out what’s going on.”
Samal nodded. “I’m sorry. It’s just Elder Isandru told me not to disturb you by waking you. Same for Ret and Nabea. I’ve never questioned an Elder before.”
“I shouldn’t blame you,” I said. “We’ll find out what’s going on soon enough.”
Or at least that’s what I hoped.
“Go get Elder Isandru,” I said. “If he talks back, tell him I sent you.”
Samal’s face paled, as if I was sending him to his death.
“You’ll be fine,” I said.
“All right,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”
* * *
It was at least ten minutes before both Isandru and Tellor showed up. I didn’t even give them the chance to speak.
“What’s going on? We’re not going to Dragonspire, are we?”
Isandru shook his head solemnly, taking a seat at the foot of my bed while Tellor stood. “We are in Shenshi.”
Of all the places we could have been, I would have never guessed that. “Shenshi? Why?”
“For treatment,” Tellor said. “Without treatment, you cannot lead.”
