“I stop here,” he says. “I cannot fight Zeroes.”
There is the sound of shouting and cursing in our wake. The light from the guards’ torches bounces along the wall behind us.
“What are Zeroes?”
Five of the guards have caught up to us.
“Go.” Ekil points to a ladder built against the cave as he blocks the guards from me.
I hoist myself onto the rungs and climb. The ladder leads straight up into the main part of the weapons building. The place is eerily silent as I pull myself from the cave and into the building.
Beside me, another ladder is fixed to the wall. I climb for what seems like forever. By the time I reach the top, my legs feel like rubber. The ladder has brought me up to a stone covering in the building’s ceiling. When I push away the stone and crawl up through the hole, I’m standing on the bridge that connects the two buildings.
My father stands at the other end of the bridge.
CHAPTER 55
My father waits for me, surrounded by more of his guards.
I run across the narrow wooden planks, heedless of the way the wood creaks and moans beneath my feet.
“It’s not too late,” he calls as I come within hearing range. “You can still join me.”
“I’m going to kill you for my mother. For what you did to Brice and your other prisoners.” My voice is sharp with emotion.
I raise the blade to cut down the first man that separates me from the Captain. When I glance at the man standing before me, my hand stops mid-strike. I gasp. Stumbling back, I teeter on the edge of the bridge.
“What have you done to them?” A terrible coldness shudders through me as I stare.
Four men, if they can even be called men, surround the Captain. Each of them stares at me through hollow, black eyes. Their sunken cheeks and thin lips are covered in hideous black sores. Bald heads, covered with a few wisps of white hair, shine with oily sweat.
They are so thin their every bone protrudes, making the skeletal creatures look more dead than alive. They don’t wear cloaks, but instead are covered in dirty cloth rags. Their spines are twisted and they stand awkwardly. It’s like they’re unfamiliar with their own bodies.
Their hands, which are mangled and covered in open wounds, grip the handles of scythes. The long, curved blades gleam in the orange sunlight.
“Didn’t you ever wonder how I, with only a handful of guards, could control thousands of Halves?” My father studies me as I continue to stare with horror at the creatures.
“Bisecter Zeroes, I call them, although my guards have taken to just calling them Zeroes. They’re like you, or so they are meant to be.” My father gives the creatures an appraising glance. “And now that I have your blood, and not just a poor substitute of my own creation, they’ll be perfect.” He raises the small vial filled with brown liquid before slipping it back into the pocket of his cloak. My blood.
I gape at the creatures. The sight of their ruined flesh and hollow eyes sears into my memory.
My father gives the creatures a short nod. “You are looking at the future.”
He jabs the point of a knife into the back of the Zero in front. It raises its scythe and leaps toward me in a single, fluid motion.
The creature moves so fast it’s a blur. And then it’s upon me. It knocks me to the ground before I can raise my sling. All that keeps me from falling is the strong grip I keep on both sides of the bridge.
The Zero doesn’t wait for me to stand before it raises the scythe and brings it down over me. I hurl my body to the side, making the bridge swing. The tip of the scythe slashes my shoulder.
I jump to my feet and kick the Zero with all the strength I can muster on the rickety bridge. The force would have been enough to splinter the bones of any man, but the creature doesn’t even seem to feel the blow.
It brings the scythe down again. I scream as pain rips across my back.
Fast, too fast. I’ve never seen anything like it.
I throw myself to the side to avoid a blow, wavering on the bridge’s edge. My hands flail as they search for purchase. They grasp only air. The Zero kicks me before I can regain my balance, and I fall.
I grab the edge of the bridge at the last moment. When I glance down, I’m overcome by a wave of dizziness. The tall trees below are no more than colorful specs.
Three fingers are all that keep me from plunging to my death. My legs swing wildly. I grasp the ropes that bind the boards together with my other hand.
My eyes are level with the Zero’s feet as it bears down on me.
The creature raises its scythe. Blood drips from the curved blade and speckles the boards near my fingers.
Do something, Hemera!
As the blade falls, I reach up with my left hand to grab the Zero’s leg. It lets out a piercing shriek, wavers on the edge of the bridge, and then falls. I swing my body beneath the bridge to keep from being dragged down with the Zero, and then haul myself back up. The other Zeroes are upon me before I’ve even gotten to my feet.
I back down the bridge, too busy dodging their relentless blows to strike any of my own. Their scythes move so fast I can hear the whir as they slice through the air. When two of the Zeroes knock into each other in their haste to kill me, I sense their momentary unbalance. I throw myself at one of them and knock it off the bridge. I barely manage to keep from falling as the wooden planks tremble beneath me.
One of the other Zeroes leaps toward me with its scythe outstretched. At the last moment, I drop to the ground. Its blade cuts the other Zero standing behind me. The Zero lets out a bloodcurdling screech before turning its own scythe on the one that struck it.
Their curved blades lock together above their heads, their quarrel with me forgotten. My father’s voice comes from somewhere far away, but I can’t make out his words. He steps off the bridge and disappears into the prison building.
I push my way past the Zeroes that are still fighting. I’m almost at the end of the bridge when the last Zero blocks my path.
The creature raises its scythe and slashes the ropes that connect the bridge to the building.
“No!”
As though in slow motion, the disconnected end of the bridge drops away from the building. I fumble for something to hold and manage to grab onto one of the ropes between the planks. The bridge is propelled toward the weapons building where it’s still attached.
Air rushes in my ears as the falling bridge picks up momentum. Even as I grasp the rope with all my strength, I feel it beginning to fray in my hands. I hear the distant screams of the two Zeroes as they plummet to their death.
I squeeze my eyes shut as the wall of the building looms closer.
The impact jolts every bone in my body as I crash through the specere leaves and wooden siding. The rope I’m holding snaps. The air is forced from my lungs as I hit the ground inside the building with a sickening thud.
I clutch my throat, fighting for breath. Still choking and gasping, I pull a wooden stake from where it’s lodged in my side. Blood rushes out of the wound and puddles beneath me. My screams fill the empty building.
In moments, the blood stops as my skin begins to knit back over the wound.
I let out a groan as I roll onto my side, just out of the pool of my own blood. My father escaped. He’ll flee into the mountains through tunnels he alone knows. There will be no trail to follow. I’ve failed.
I don’t know how long I lie there—minutes or hours—before I find the strength to stand.
CHAPTER 56
Dayne is waiting for me at the tunnel’s entrance.
“He escaped.” My voice breaks.
“I know.” Dayne’s shoulders are hunched in defeat. “Jarosh and Thutmose saw him riding one of those lizard creatures toward the mountains like the Dark God himself was chasing him.” Dayne scowls. “By the time the archers got him in sight, he was already gone.”
“I’m going after him. I’ll track him into the mountains. I’ll—”
&nb
sp; “What about all the people here?” Dayne interrupts. “Without your protection, more Duskers will come to destroy this place and everyone inside of it.”
“So, should we just let him go?” The full weight of my failure bears down on me.
Dayne studies me through our mother’s eyes. “That’s up to you.”
I look around at the rubble-strewn area inside the stone walls.
Dayne is right, of course. Where else could these people go? Certainly not back to where they came from; most of their settlements were destroyed by Halves or seized by the Duskers. And now that Gorgoran betrayed us, not even Solis is safe.
Still, the longer I wait, the more impossible it will become to track my father. I look to where the glistening white buildings stand amid the wreckage of battle.
“We need to rebuild this place,” I say finally. “We should make it a fortress to protect anyone who wants refuge from the Duskers. We’ll send messengers to the Banished…tell them they can find safety and freedom here if they wish. Once that’s done, I’ll go after the Captain.”
Dayne nods. “What about the Halves?”
I turn to Ekil, who has been watching me, keeping his distance from Vlaz. “Do you want to stay here?” I ask.
“No.” His answer comes without hesitation. “The Zeroes are gone. We are free.”
Disappointment flickers through me. “Where will you go?”
“Somewhere the Master won’t find us. Somewhere without humans.”
I can’t blame him, especially after everything my father has done to them.
“Well then,” I take an unsteady breath, “You have my word that no one will try to stop you.”
Ekil nods. He takes the hand I hold out.
“You will always be welcome here, and I will be forever grateful for all you’ve done.” The words sound too formal coming from my lips. I give Ekil’s cold hand a squeeze.
Dayne is looking at me with some combination of awe and amusement. “My little sister can communicate with the Halves.” He chuckles a little. “Will you ever cease to surprise me?”
When Ekil is gone, there’s an unexpected emptiness in my heart. I’m surprised to find that, like Jarosh and Thutmose, I now count Ekil as one of my friends.
Dayne and I walk back to the fortress together in comfortable silence. Vlaz trots along beside us, nudging my hand with his nose.
Even though no one has rested since the last high day, everyone is hard at work. Ry shouts instructions to men who carry armloads of provisions to growing piles. The Solguards are filling in the craters left from the cave-in. Thutmose and Jarosh are directing others who are still working to clear the bodies and debris strewn across the ground.
Their familiar faces bring an unexpected rush of comfort to me. I stay on the edge of the activity, trying to see without being seen, but some men I freed from the prison building spot me. They put down their tools and make their way to me.
One of the men holds out his hand. “You are the reason why, for the first time in my life, I’m in a place worth defending.” He looks around at the ruin like it’s some kind of paradise. “I would give my life to defend a place where I can live as a free man.”
I don’t know what to say, so instead of responding, I clasp the soldier’s outstretched hand. His words ease the despair that has been trailing me like a shadow.
✽✽✽
“Can I have a word?” Wade startles me when he appears by my side. He takes my arm and leads me away from the others.
“I wanted to say goodbye.” When he turns to look at me, his golden eyes are flecked with an emotion I can’t decipher.
Inexplicably, I’m uncomfortable under the intensity of his gaze. I look down at the ground. “Goodbye?”
“I’m leaving.”
I feel his eyes on me, but I don’t look up. “Where are you going?” There is a slight waver in my voice.
“Back to Solis. It’s not safe anymore, now that Gorgoran—” his voice takes on a bitter edge. “Anyway,” he clears his throat, “Jadem wants me to defend the fortress until you’ve built up Tanguro enough to hold everyone.”
The weight of his words rests heavy on my shoulders. Tanguro will be the new Solguard fortress. And I’m somehow supposed to lead it.
“But we’ve only just won the battle. You can’t leave yet.” I don’t know how to do this, is what I want to say.
“You’ll be fine,” Wade says, reading my thoughts. “And your aunt will be here to help you.”
“She can send someone else back,” I argue. “Jarosh. Or Thutmose.” Just not you.
Wade shakes his head. “I asked for it to be me.”
“Why?” My voice cracks.
He puts a finger under my chin to tip my gaze up. Something stirs inside me.
“Because you need time to figure out what you want. And I need to give you the space to do it.”
“I don’t understand.”
Wade’s face is close enough to mine that I can feel the warmth of his breath on my skin. Energy courses between us.
“I’m falling in love with you.” He says the words simply, without apology.
A mountain of feelings crashes down on me.
“I know,” he says, reading the expression on my face even though I don’t say a word. “Too much has happened. You need time to heal from…everything, and I have a lot to figure out myself now that Sal’s gone.”
“Wade, I….”
He takes my face in his hands. Before I can say anything else, he’s kissing me.
I should pull away. I should be ashamed of wanting him, for the fire his touch awakens in me. But instead, I wrap my arms around him and kiss him back.
When he draws away, my lips tingle from the pressure of where his mouth had been. His heart beats strong and quick, echoing my own racing pulse.
We separate when the sound of someone clearing his throat tells us we’re no longer alone.
“Apologies,” a man in a blue cloak scratches his cheek, “but the Solguards are ready.”
“I’ll be out soon.” Wade doesn’t look away from me. He presses his lips to my forehead and then steps back.
“I want you to have this.” He takes the cord from around his neck and pulls the sun pendant from beneath his cloak.
“That’s Sal’s,” I breathe, recalling Wade slipping it from his beloved leader’s neck. “I can’t.”
He presses it into my hand. “So you don’t forget.”
The pendant is heavier than I expected. The metal is smooth to the touch and warmed from Wade’s skin. I hold it up and admire the etchings of the sun; its intricate swirls are cut into the metal with extraordinary precision.
“I could never forget.” My voice sounds small, far away.
Wade slips the cord of Sal’s pendant over my head. It rests against my neck next to my mother’s silver key, warm and reassuring. Before he reaches the door, he flashes me one of his disarming smiles. Then he’s gone.
CHAPTER 57
I stay in the building for what feels like a long time. When Dayne’s clear voice carries back to me from outside, I force myself to rejoin the others.
They’re pouring over plans for rebuilding and expanding. There are drawings of more buildings, caves, and orchards. They’re all so engrossed in their discussions that none of them notice the long line of Halves filing away from the broken wall toward the mountains. Ekil’s familiar, slightly bowed form is at their head.
I raise my hand in farewell. At first, I think they’re too far away to see, but then Ekil stops to wave back. I watch until the Halves are no more than moving specs against the wild landscape.
I wander away from the noise before anyone notices me. All I want is to be alone. The far orchard of pink fruit was unharmed by the battle, and I make my way toward their inviting, quiet rows.
Footsteps startle me as I stand staring at a purple insect with scarlet wings. Dayne’s head appears first as he ducks under a thick overhang of branches.
“Hope
I’m not interrupting anything,” Dayne raises an eyebrow at me as he brushes pink blossoms from his cloak. “But we need to talk.”
The look on his face makes a heavy weight grow in the pit of my stomach. “What’s going on?”
“I’m leaving.” He says the words quietly, like it will soften their impact.
“No, not you too….” The rising pitch of my voice betrays my panic. “You can’t leave. I need you here!”
Dayne lays a hand on my shoulder. “Zeidan needs to be stopped. Now that he has your blood….”
The rest of his sentence hangs in the air.
My father will use my blood to make more of the Zeroes. Except, if what he said is true, then my blood will make them even more powerful than the ones I fought. A shudder goes through me.
“I have to come with you. You can’t—” My voice cracks.
“You’re the leader of these people,” Dayne says. “They’re depending on you to keep them safe.”
Making an effort to keep my voice even, I ask, “Will you be back?”
“I’ll return as soon as it’s done.” As Dayne’s blue eyes fill with emotion, he sweeps me into a hug. “Little sis,” he murmurs into my ear, “I couldn’t be prouder of you.”
Tears burn the back of my throat. I’m only now starting to grasp how much I’ve come to depend on him these past weeks, and the thought of him leaving is almost unbearable.
I want to tell Dayne what it means to me that he’s believed in me from the first, and that even though I haven’t known him for long, I can’t imagine my life without him. I want to tell him how I never would have made it this far without him…how because of him, I’m stronger…because of him, I’m better.
Instead, I manage a weak smile and say, “I’m proud of you too, big brother.”
✽✽✽
I stand alone by the broken wooden gates, as first Dayne, and then Wade and a handful of Solguards, leave the fortress. I watch long after their receding figures have melted into the wild Tanguro landscape.
Bisecter Page 31
