by David Webb
Tamisra smiled and let go of his arms. She didn’t get off, but instead folded her arms and thrust her head in the air in triumph. “You bet it is.”
However, her victory was short lived.
Roland grabbed her as she dropped her guard, throwing her to the side and letting her momentum roll her over and carry him with her, doing his best to ignore the pain. Now, he sat atop Tamisra, but he didn’t make her same mistake of letting go, instead pushing her shoulders down firmly.
“What are you going to do now, girl?”
“I do what I want.” Tamisra reached up as far as she could with pinned shoulders. She grabbed Roland by his neck, pulling him down and kissing him fiercely.
After several seconds, she let him go, and he sat up, his head spinning. “We should do what you want more often.”
Tamisra smirked and pushed Roland off her. “You would be so lucky.”
Roland grinned. Tamisra was the strangest girl he had ever met, and he couldn’t help but be utterly fascinated by her. He had spent a week trying to figure her out, but he happily gave up the lost cause when she kissed him without warning one day when he was resting in the clinic, recovering from his gunshot wounds.
He had spent the next week training with her, mostly target practice and sparring. He taught her techniques that Gareth had passed on to him and Nicholas. It was a more strategic way to fight, using an enemy’s strength against them. Tamisra was able to learn with some difficulty, and in return she taught him a more brutal fighting style.
Their practices were exhausting, but they were always broken up with kisses when no one was watching. These pleasurable distractions made the sessions significantly less painful, despite Roland’s injuries from the Lightbringers’ attack.
“Tell you what,” Roland said, picking up the bow again. “You hit the target, and we can do what you want some more.”
“And if I miss?”
“Then I kiss you some more.”
Tamisra laughed. “What’s the difference?”
“You’ll have taken one step closer toward mastering a useful life skill. Plus, you get to win, and I know how much you like winning.”
“You got that right.” Tamisra took careful aim at the target once again.
“Tamisra! Roland!”
A voice from a nearby tunnel startled Tamisra, and the arrow flew even farther off course than before. She turned and growled at Xander, who jogged into the cavern, his breathing ragged.
“You’d better have a good reason for interrupting us.”
Xander came to a stop, and he leaned over, catching his breath.
“Any day now,” she said.
Finally, Xander straightened up, only to turn to run again, motioning for them to follow. “We found Aniya.”
Roland’s heart sped up, and he took off after Xander, ignoring the pain in his leg and accidentally leaving Tamisra behind to catch up. It didn’t take long since Roland’s stride was severely impaired by his wound.
The trio made their way back to the main camp and into the central building. Xander opened a trapdoor in the corner, ushering Roland down into Salvador’s basement war room.
Roland stepped inside to see Salvador, Corrin, and Lieutenant Haskill poring over a large map on the table. Malcolm sat in the corner, his left arm in a sling.
“I assume you’ve heard?” Corrin looked up. He wore a matching sling on his right arm, and his shoulder was thickly bandaged.
Roland nodded. Behind him, he heard the trapdoor close.
“Where is she?” Tamisra asked.
“She’s on a train to the Hub,” Lieutenant Haskill said grimly. “Scouts from Shyvale report that her capture was six hours ago. The Silvers left with her immediately afterward, and they’re probably halfway to the Hub by now.”
Roland sat by the table, stunned. He could only imagine the horrors that awaited her. “I can’t believe it. I promised to protect her.”
“It’s not your fault you were shot.” Tamisra petted the back of his head.
Roland ignored her. “What can we do?”
“Nothing,” Salvador said. “We are simply not equipped to pick a fight with the Lightbringers.”
Lieutenant Haskill shrugged. “That’s debatable. We have moles and numbers on our side. We even still have guns and ammunition, thanks to our decision to limit their use over the years. But I agree that for now, we do nothing. We would need to prepare for such a battle, and even then, the losses we would suffer may not be worth it.”
“You suggest leaving Aniya to die?” Corrin shook his head, biting his lip. “In the war, we never would have left a man behind.”
“But we did, Corrin.” Salvador placed a hand on his general’s good shoulder. “We had to make some hard choices then. You know this better than most. It is no different now. We must continue on with what we have left, which means not risking our men in open battle. I am afraid I cannot agree to yet another foolish mission.”
“I don’t want to fight them,” Roland said, clutching the edge of the table. “I just want to get Aniya back.”
Tamisra looked at him strangely, but Roland ignored this.
“I got shot the last time I tried to help your girlfriend,” Malcolm said, nodding toward his sling. “We’ve already suffered enough for her. I say we cut our losses and move on. We don’t owe her anything, and she’s not worth getting ourselves killed over.”
“Why are you even here?” Xander asked. “If you’re not going to offer anything helpful, you might as well leave.”
“Quiet,” Corrin said, glaring at his sons.
“Look, the tunnels run in a different route than the train, right?” Roland leaned over the table and examined the map. “According to this, the railroad goes through every sector, forcing the train along a twisted path throughout the Web. Our mole-made tunnel to the Hub goes straight there, more or less.”
Lieutenant Haskill shook his head. “Even if we were to use that tunnel, we still wouldn’t be able to catch up. The walk would take days.”
“So we start now,” Corrin said. “We can’t just do nothing.”
Salvador sighed. “Nothing is exactly what we must do, Corrin. You would waste time walking there just to turn around and come back when it is too late?”
“We’ve got moles,” Xander said.
“Not many that could make that journey,” Malcolm said. “The girl’s brother took the two best ones.”
Roland gritted his teeth. “Then we’ll ride them until they die and then walk the rest of the way.” He straightened and stood nose-to-nose with Salvador. “I’m getting her back, one way or another. I’m not leaving her to die.”
Salvador and Roland remained in a staring match for several moments until a soft voice came from the corner.
“You love her, don’t you?”
Roland turned toward Tamisra. He wasn’t sure what to say to that. Finally, he approached her and gently laid his hands on her shoulder.
“Of course I do.”
Tamisra looked down.
“But not like that. I’ve never loved her like that, and I never will.”
She looked up again, her eyes wet. “Promise?”
Tamisra was the fiercest girl Roland had ever met. Other men looked at her with a mix of admiration and fear. Even looking at her himself, he felt strange, like everything about her excited him and scared him to death all at the same time. But now, she seemed no more than a scared girl, terrified of losing the most important thing in her life.
“Promise.”
As she embraced him, Lieutenant Haskill spoke up again.
“Even if you could get there in time, the tunnel to the Hub has been sealed. You might get close, but there’s about fifty feet of rock and dirt between you and the Hub.”
Tamisra pulled away from Roland. “You and I both know that’s not a problem.”
“What, you want to blow the exit?” The lieutenant shook his head. “Unless the charges were placed on the other side of the cave-in,
it’s not safe enough. And even if you could convince the moles to dig your way out, there’s no guarantee that they would dig straight into the Hub. Besides, doing either would attract unwanted attention instantly and make us a target. We’d be practically welcoming them inside.”
“They’re already welcoming themselves inside!” Tamisra threw her hands in the air. “And something tells me that the Ravelta incident won’t be the last one.”
“They got what they came for,” Salvador said. “They will not be bothering us again.”
“What they came for is Aniya,” Roland said, his hands curling into fists. “You know what she means to me. I’m going to go get her with or without your help. If you don’t help, our blood is on your hands.”
Tamisra looked down. “Please, Father.”
Salvador stared at the two for a moment. “If you succeed, they’ll only come for her again.”
“Then we’ll leave,” Roland said quietly.
Tamisra’s eyes widened. “Roland . . .”
He forced himself to ignore Tamisra and continued, “Even if we manage to save her, William would still be trapped inside the Hub. We left Holendast to protect Aniya and to find some way to save William. I don’t think we’re going to get that kind of help from you, so we’ll go somewhere else. Luckily, there’s people in the sectors who still believe in the Scourge, even if you no longer do.”
“Careful, boy,” Malcolm hissed, his eyes narrowing. “You wouldn’t speak to him like this if you knew what he was capable of.”
“I wouldn’t know. He hasn’t shown me any sign of the so-called great warrior I’ve heard stories about.” Roland glared at the aged warlord. “It’s time to fight. We can end this now. We can finish what you started.”
Corrin turned to Salvador. “Consider this. Even if we fight them in open battle, victory isn’t too far-fetched. This could be the turning point for Refuge. It could mean our salvation at last.”
Salvador bowed his head, and for a moment, Roland thought maybe they had managed to convince him.
But the Scourge finally shook his head.
“No. I cannot let you go, and I will not waste our resources and men on another suicide mission that will only draw attention to ourselves. My word is final.”
With that, Salvador walked upstairs.
Tamisra looked down. “I’m sorry, Roland. He—”
But Roland didn’t want to hear it. He left the basement and went back upstairs, slamming the trapdoor behind him and ignoring Salvador as he limped out into the camp.
He didn’t make it very far before Tamisra caught up to him.
“You’re going anyway, aren’t you?”
He didn’t look back. “Guessed that, did you?”
“Roland—” She placed a hand on his arm, and Roland jerked away.
“Are you going to try to stop me?”
“No.”
“Then stay out of my way.”
Roland marched on but fell flat on his face as he was tripped in the darkness. He rolled over, ready to fight, but Tamisra grabbed his wrists.
“I’m coming with you.”
33
“I must say, you have certainly made my job easier,” the Operative said, leaning back in his seat once again.
Across from him, the girl slumped in her seat, leaning forward. She rested her cheek on the table, sweat running down her pale forehead.
“If you don’t know anything, then you certainly couldn’t have told anyone else. Good thing, too. It’s a waste of resources to send more men into the caves to track down your tunnel rat friends.”
Nicholas stood back up, but the Operative held up a finger.
“Just a moment, boy.” He leaned over the table and folded his hands, grinning at the girl. “Out of curiosity, why didn’t you just turn yourself in back in Holendast? The Lightbringers want nothing more than peace, and you would have helped us secure it. You would have been well rewarded for your prompt integrity.”
Aniya sat back up and glared at him. “You really expect me to believe that? You thought I knew something, so you brainwashed Nicholas and killed an innocent girl, all after killing my parents. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have let me off that easy if I turned myself in.”
He laughed again. “Surely you didn’t think that your actions would not have consequences? Ms. Lyons, your government works because it has rules, and it is very good at enforcing them. If you steal something, you’re whipped in the streets. If you betray our generosity, you suffer execution. We don’t enjoy it—well, I say ‘we’ on behalf of the Lightbringers. I myself have different proclivities. But it must be done. The last time they turned a blind eye, the Uprising happened. And with war come many more casualties than just a few. In any case, Nicholas wasn’t brainwashed, as you put it. We offered him a choice, and he chose to listen to reason. As a matter of fact, I offered him the very same drink I gave you, and he proved to me that he would obey my every command.”
Aniya looked up at Nicholas, her lips quivering.
“Would you like to see?” The Operative nodded at Nicholas. “Hit her.”
Aniya turned back to the Operative in alarm.
Nicholas stood up slowly. “You said you wouldn’t make me hurt her.”
“Wrong. I said I wouldn’t make you kill her. Now, hit her.”
“Nicholas, you—”
Aniya was interrupted as Nicholas’s open hand struck her across the face.
The Operative smiled. “He’s mine now.”
Nicholas bowed his head and muttered, “He’s right, I—”
“Save it,” Aniya said, holding a hand to her red cheek. “I don’t know you anymore.”
“You can take her back to her quarters now, Officer. Don’t bother with the handcuffs. I think she knows she’s not going anywhere.”
Nicholas pulled Aniya up and exited the train car.
When the Operative was sure they were out of earshot, he pressed a button on the side of the table, and a digital display slowly descended from above until it rested at his eye level.
The screen lit up. The Operative pressed three buttons, then waited.
After a moment, the display fizzled into a video feed, showing a man dressed in gray.
The Operative cleared his throat. “Checking in, sir. She doesn’t know anything. Apparently, the boy never got a chance to tell anyone about the reactor.”
“Good. No harm done, then.”
The Operative paused. “We may have a minor problem.”
“Yes?”
“Sir, the Scourge is still alive.”
The Adviser nodded. “I see.”
“I anticipated you may want to use this information to track him down, but the girl doesn’t know the tunnels well enough to lead us back to him.”
“No matter,” the Adviser said, waving his hand. “He’s an old man by now, not in any position to finish what he started. Forget the Scourge and bring the girl in.”
“For what purpose? She doesn’t know anything. We can dispose of her and just move on already.”
“The girl will live. Our reasons are our own.”
The Operative frowned. “I want to speak to the Chancellor.”
“Is my word not good enough for you, assassin?” The Adviser snarled. “As far as you’re concerned, what comes out of my mouth are the Chancellor’s words, so you will not question me or those sent on my behalf. And the next time you dump your vile mixture of alcohol and chemicals down a government asset’s throat, you’ll find yourself in a pod next to the girl’s brother. Are we clear?”
“Yes, sir.” The Operative narrowed his eyes. “But while we’re being transparent with each other, let me as well make one thing very clear. You may be the Chancellor’s right hand, but I am his left. If I suspect that you are not acting in his interests, if I believe you are working against him in any fashion, I have the right and obligation to investigate and report my findings to him. If I find that you are guilty of treason, I’ll kill you and your precious
assets myself.”
After a very long pause, the man spoke again. “Bring the girl in. We’ll continue this conversation when you arrive.”
The screen went black.
The Operative growled and poured another drink. He doesn’t know. He couldn’t know. He’s sitting pretty in the Citadel while we get our hands dirty.
He downed the drink.
What is he not telling me?
He only had a few minutes until would they arrive in the Hub, and it would be too late to interrogate him again. He stood up, pulling his gun from its holster.
Time to find out.
34
Aniya lurched forward. She had tripped on the entry to the next train car, but she caught herself on the railing before completely losing her balance.
“Are you okay?”
She scowled. “What do you care?”
“I serve the Lightbringers now, but I never stopped caring for you.”
She felt a hand on the back of her shoulder, and she spun around, shoving a finger in Nicholas’s face.
“Don’t touch me again.”
He looked down. “Please, Aniya. Don’t make this hard on yourself and harder on me.”
Aniya scoffed. “You didn’t seem to think twice when you hit me, when you shot me. You’re their puppet. That’s clear now.”
They passed into another car, this one full of electrical equipment.
“I have my orders, Aniya. If I disobey them, I die. If I follow along, you stay alive. That was one of my conditions, that you live.”
“Gee, Nicky. What a sacrifice on your part. I can’t believe you would do that for me.” She rolled her eyes. “What did they say to you to get you to abandon everything you believed in? What happened to you?”
Nicholas remained silent.
“I get nothing? Eighteen years of friendship and you don’t have the decency to explain why you threw it all away?” She turned away again and kept walking. “You really are one of them now.”
Aniya opened the door to the next train car and stepped over the gap, eyeing the rocks below. Not hearing the door close behind her, she turned around to see Nicholas, still in the previous car.
