by T. Z. Leigh
His voice was dangerously quiet as he spoke. "You are Ryor's granddaughter and therefore future queen, but you are still a child. You will listen to a royal order, whether you like it or not. You four are staying here, end of discussion."
He turned away from her and walked back to the table. She saw Sven give her a quick, fierce glance in a warning to drop it and leave. Like hell she would.
"Excuse me, Your Highness," her voice unrelenting, "I saw my grandfather being beaten by Voklav. I'm not going to sit here doing nothing, wondering if he's dead or alive. Every other time may be different, but on this occasion I will not listen to your royal order. I spent a long time in prison under the guard of Fulgar Lovit and his minions. If I can put up with their abuse and not show them an inkling of weakness, or cowardice, I can easily ignore your order. I am going to rescue my grandfather, with or without all of you. It's your choice."
The silence that followed was so thick, you could've cut it with a knife; everyone staring, not moving a muscle. It was so quiet, she thought all of them had also stopped breathing until Nehaya broke the silence with her loud cackling. It went on too long for Jamie's comfort, but at least everyone didn't look like statues anymore.
"Let them come, Qayto," Nehaya said, amused.
"What? Have you gone mad?" he replied.
"She's obviously going to do whatever she wants, and from what I've seen, she's…capable."
Jamie presumed that where Nehaya was concerned, that was probably the best compliment she would get.
"The other three freed Jamie and Sven from that prison with only my help as an initial distraction," Fyzer stated. "I would say they are more than capable."
Everyone's head turned slowly to see what Qayto's reaction would be. He looked conflicted, his eyes narrowing as he stared thoughtfully at Jamie. One side of his mouth twitched, but other than that, there was no inclination of what his response would be. After a minute, he sighed.
"Alright," he said, causing most of them to expel a breath. "But there are rules. If you four do not abide by them, you will be dealt with swiftly…and let me warn you, the punishment will be severe. I don't care who you are."
Jamie didn't speak for a moment, then ran to Qayto and threw her arms around him. "Thank you, thank you, Qayto. I'm going to tell the others," she said smiling, then kiroskoed away.
"I can't believe you convinced him to let us come," Zachery told Jamie after she explained what had happened.
"I'm surprised he didn't crush you after talking to him like that," April said, smiling.
"Come on," laughed Sam, "it's not like he would've actually hurt her."
"Well, I wouldn't risk it," April replied, her voice dead serious. "He scares the crap out of me."
"Qayto's not that bad, you guys," Sam said.
"Did you just call me Qayto?"
Zachery turned to see Nehaya and Qayto standing in the doorway. For the first time in his life, he saw Sam very, very nervous.
"Err…no…well only to them…I wouldn't say it to you."
"I should hope not."
"Forget about it, Qayto; he looks like he might soil his pants," Nehaya said.
One side of Qayto's mouth turned up in a smile. "Come with us, son, there are some things we must teach you before we head out at daylight."
Sam shot a worried look at the others before leaving.
"Whatever they have planned, I hope it doesn't hurt too badly," Zachery said hopefully.
"Nehaya and I had a training programme planned for you, but the situation has changed, and therefore so must your training."
"Okay," Sam replied hesitantly.
They were going down the hill again to the plain, and Sam had a bad feeling he would be in a lot of pain by the end of the day.
"The locality of this rescue mission is exceptionally perilous. There are specific areas where you will need to use your strength if a life-threatening situation should occur. We leave tomorrow morning, so you will have to learn quickly to increase your endurance limit."
"Okay…Dada."
A word that would have come so naturally in the Sewasphere for some reason had to be forced from Sam's throat.
"Dada?" Qayto repeated.
"It's what some people in the Sewasphere call their paternal grandfathers. There's a massive area where most people have coloured skin, called Asia. Dad was from Bangladesh, one of the countries there. I went there when I was little. I really miss it sometimes."
"Dada sounds good."
They emerged from the forest onto the plain to find it empty except the remaining two rocks placed there for the demonstration. Someone had obviously cleared all the rubble since his fight with Nehaya.
"There are two skills you must learn by the end of today. How to dig yourself a big enough hole to hide in, and how to carry an immense amount of weight," Qayto told him.
"Okay..." Sounds easy enough, he thought.
"Don't look so happy, Sam. It's going to be much harder than you think," Nehaya smirked.
Sam looked from Nehaya to Qayto and wondered why they seemed to enjoy making his life difficult. Maybe he would ask them one day when they were in a good enough mood, which didn't seem likely to ever happen.
"Follow me," Qayto ordered, then led him to one of the enormous rocks and gestured to it. "Do you think you could lift this?"
"I don't think anyone could," he replied.
Qayto smiled. "You'd be surprised."
Qayto turned and crouched, placing his hands under the rock where it met the ground. He lifted it enough to fit his hands underneath so that from where Sam was standing, his arms seemed to have disappeared. With a full-blown growl, he lifted the rock inch by inch as Sam gaped with fascination. Qayto's whole body was tense, muscles straining, threatening to pop out of his skin. Once the rock was over his head, he stood up slowly, balancing the rock carefully. He was sweating profusely, but his face showed no exertion. He looked at Sam with an expectant facial expression.
"I have to do that?" Sam asked, then shut his mouth after realising that he was still gaping.
"Maybe later. For now, you just have to hold it," Nehaya said. "Go and take it from him."
Sam looked again at the rock. "And if I can't do it?"
"Then you will be flattened, obviously."
"Great, nice to know how much you care, Nehaya."
He took a deep breath in, then out, before stepping closer to Qayto.
"The trick is to not think about the weight of what you're holding. You know how to use your strength; imagine it's a force unto itself, lifting the rock with you. Your strength is the key. Focus all your energy on it," Qayto explained, only a little out of breath.
"Right," Sam said drily, imagining the rock crushing him within a few seconds of carrying it.
He stood directly in front of Qayto so that the toes of their shoes were touching, then raised his hands so they were placed flat on the rock. His eyes must have shown his anxiousness and hesitation because Qayto's gaze instantly softened.
"Sam, look at me," he said, his voice more sympathetic and gentler than Sam thought would ever be possible. "Do you remember what I just told you?"
Sam only nodded.
"There will most likely come a time when what you are about to do will save the lives of those around you. I know we are hard on you, but that is the way Mezats are supposed to be. Our strength is the core of what defines us. We use it to protect others who don't have that strength, physically or emotionally. Nehaya told me you were a fighter in the Sewasphere. When she started to train you, you were overconfident, so sure of yourself. Fyzer told me you put your life on the line to save Jamie. You are strong, inside and out. I couldn't be prouder of you, and I know…that your father would have been too."
Qayto's eyes were full of sadness, yet his caring smile and words gripped Sam's heart. He found it impossible to breathe for a moment as his eyes filled with tears, but he blinked them away as soon as they came before Qayto could see, though a couple ran down his
cheeks.
"Thank you."
"Now," he asked, his voice stern again, "are you ready, Sam?"
"Yes," he replied firmly.
Sam felt the weight slowly shifting, the rock becoming heavier and heavier, his body now taut and stiff, as if he were a rock himself. He thought his arms might snap in half like twigs when he saw Qayto lower his arms, but one thought gave him the willpower to persevere. A memory of something his father told him before he had died. Words he had never truly understood, and that had never clicked fully into place, until finding out that his father knew what he would have to face saving the world. Words that plagued his thoughts every night before going to sleep.
"Son," Ali started, holding Sam's hand. "I want you to remember what I'm telling you. It's imperative that you never forget."
Sam sat carefully on the side of the hospital bed. "What is it, Dad?"
"You're not just an average child. You're special, more special than you realise right now. I have done my best to look after you and keep you safe, but soon you will need to be strong and brave, brave enough to look after yourself and those close to you." Then after a pause. "Do you still have the necklace I gave you?"
"Yes," he replied, pulling it out from under his shirt.
"No," he said, tucking it back in again. "It's very valuable. Don't ever remove it from your neck. Keep the necklace safe. It's the only thing I have left of my parents. Promise me that you'll keep it safe."
"I promise, Dad."
"Always remember...within you there's a strength you don't even think is possible, and it's governed by a beautiful heart. I will never stop loving you, or being proud of you. Ever."
Sam cried. "Why did it have to be you? Out of everyone in the world, why did you have to get ill?"
"Sam, never allow yourself to drown in despair. Too many people are losing their lives uselessly to depression these days." Then looking at nothing in particular, brooding, "Such a waste of life." He faced Sam again. "God gave you life for it to be lived...don't squander it."
Chapter Thirty
The memory ended, as did the daydream. The weight of the rock was becoming unbearable as his stamina was pushed to the extreme. Struggling to breathe normally just by holding it, he forced out whatever strained words he could.
"How long…do I…have to…hold this for?"
"I think a few more minutes should do it," Qayto said.
"That's…too long."
"Stop your moaning," Nehaya snapped. "There's an area on the way to the prison that has frequent rock fall. Who knows how long you will have to hold one, so it doesn't crush everyone to death?"
He kept quiet thereafter, taking heed of Qayto's words. His body was summoning an extraordinary strength, a long-lost friend to carry the rock with him.
"You can put it down now," Qayto told him after what felt like five hours.
He couldn't find enough strength within him to move even a little, but he caught Nehaya's gaze and it gave him the boost he needed. He let out a groan as he shifted the rock backwards so it fell behind him, and Nehaya's eyes were still emanating with pride.
"You did well," Nehaya said.
"Wow. That's, like, the second time you've said something good about me?"
"Only exceptional feats warrant praise."
"I guess I'll have to do more exceptional things then, Nehaya."
"You have a chance right now," she told him.
"Great," he replied flatly, gathering that this hole he had to dig was going to be more difficult than he thought.
Away from the rocks, they stood facing each other. Their postures were more relaxed, more genuine, more comfortable with one another. Even though Sam's body was being pushed to its limit, he cherished every moment. Qayto and Nehaya were family, but more than that, they were the closest he would ever get to being with his dad again. Not so much in their looks, but he would see a hint of him in the way Qayto smiled and spoke, or in Nehaya's stance and the way she stared into space while daydreaming, looking to the side with her eyebrows furrowed. He was sad that his father was no longer with him, though happy that there were still traces of him in the world.
"There are predatory animals in the forest surrounding the headquarters," Qayto informed him. "When they attack, you will need to dig a hole deep enough to stand in…and wide enough for everyone who's with you to fit in."
"How many skryts are there going to be?"
"The numbers are expected to be around fifty, although you would not be the only Mezat with them, obviously," Qayto answered.
Sam looked at the ground, trying to estimate how big and deep the hole would have to be.
"How much time will I have to make the hole?"
Nehaya smiled a familiar smug smile, the kind she gave Sam before telling him something she knew he wouldn't like. Instead of making him angry, it made him feel warm inside, once realising that as impossible as it seemed, she somehow found it endearing when he complained.
"I love it when you smile at me like that," he grinned, enjoying the flustered and somewhat horrified expression on her face.
Qayto laughed, then cleared his throat. "You will have to achieve it in one punch."
Sam stared at Qayto vacantly, wondering how many fingers he would break punching the ground hard enough to make the hole.
"You're serious, aren't you?"
"Of course."
"It's a good thing there are healers close by, then."
◆◆◆
Jamie awoke in darkness and therefore knew it was still nighttime. Judging by the way they were breathing, Zachery, April and Sam were sound asleep on their beds, so she tiptoed out of the hut, not wanting to wake them. Outside, the night air was cool, fresh, and the silence was soothing. For the first time since having the terrible vision of Ryor, a breath of serenity filled her. She took it as a sign that this mission of theirs would be successful.
Or was it that she was slowly giving up on him, subconsciously? She pushed any wandering thoughts from her mind and strolled between the huts, replaying all Sven's instructions in her head.
"You're up early."
Hearing Teselda's voice suddenly made her entire body jerk as she gasped.
"You scared the hell out of me," Jamie muttered, trying to steady the pounding heart in her chest by pressing her hand firmly against it.
"Sorry if I frightened you. Did you wake up early, or have you not slept the whole night?"
"I slept for a while, then woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. What about you?"
"Same. When I'm stressed, that's usually the first thing to be affected. You might not like to hear it, but I'm more worried about Ana than Ryor. At least we know, most likely, that he's still alive, but…"
"I know, I think everyone is worried about them. But I have a good feeling that we'll save them. I'm not sure why, I just do."
"Sven said his connection to Ana seems to have been severed…but let's hope you're right."
"Wait, does that mean...?"
"No, not dead, but something unquestionably dire has occurred."
After a pause, Jamie asked, "Why were you all there, anyway? Sven said you were trying to recover a sacred item?"
"Yes. You may recall Voklav mentioning they have a certain amulet in their possession..."
"I remember. It has the power to summon monsters or something like that."
"...as well as other things, yes. We were trying to retrieve it before being discovered. If we somehow fail to recover it, you children must succeed. Should the zeragmas be released, I'm afraid there may be no way to win this war that we've been fighting for so long. It's a burden you four will have to bear…if we are not around as the Summer Solstice approaches."
Teselda's words gored through her throat and lodged themselves there. The idea was too shockingly impossible, too horrendous to consider. Jamie had to do what she always did in these kinds of circumstances. Ignore it. She swallowed the words down to be devoured by her stomach, hoping the thought was too far from he
r mind to ponder the possibility. An innate urge took over, making her change the subject.
"What happened between you and Voklav that made him hate you so much?"
The change in conversation threw Teselda a little, but she laughed anyway.
"We were friends for a long time. Our mothers were best friends, so we were always together. By the time we were forty-eight, we were smitten with each other, and even though we never expressed it verbally, we both knew how the other felt. However, things changed some time after I turned fifty."
"Fifty? That's how old you look now, at the most. The four of you don't look a day over fifty."
Teselda grinned. "I'm two hundred and eighty. Skryts age slower, so we do not become elderly until at least three hundred and fifty. But thank you for the compliment. And I see you have forgotten about the time difference. In sewian years, I'm seventy…so at fifty I would have been, what, twelve or thirteen?"
"Okay, yeah, that makes more sense. So, what changed?"
Teselda bit her lip and looked around to make sure no one was there. "Walk with me," she whispered and then led Jamie towards the river. Only once she was far enough away did she continue. "What happened when I was fifty? I met Qayto."
Jamie stopped suddenly. "Really? But you could never be with him."
"I didn't know that when we first met…and even if I did, he was naturally magnetising. I couldn't help falling utterly in love with him. I didn't have the slightest desire to try resisting it."
"Resist his seriousness and intimidation?" Jamie asked, smiling.
"He wasn't always like that. He has always been overconfident and strong, but as a youth he was humorous, charming…and downright handsome," she said as she grinned. "Let's just say for a certain period of time, my favourite thing to do was spend hours talking with him in a secluded place near the river…and watching him train, of course."
